


Mask and Feathers

by killians-dashingrescue (caroc25)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: CS AU, Captain Swan - Freeform, F/M, Smut, cs modern au setting, cs smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-02-16 05:11:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2257062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caroc25/pseuds/killians-dashingrescue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Emma is an accountant and attends a charity event for the foster care she is working for. She mets a masked stranger with who she feels instantly attracted to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Getting out of the taxi, Emma felt suddenly overdress as she walked along the sidewalk, people turning their heads around as she passed by them, until she reached the hotel in which they were holding a charity event. The cause of the charity was something that Emma held very close to the heart. They were raising money to increase the quality and resources of the foster care system, something that Emma knew too well being an orphan.

Walking at the sound of her high heels hitting the floor, she finally reached the reception hall in which the masquerade ball was held. Entering the hall, her mouth fell open seeing the how many people were there, wearing a big variety of gowns and colors, everyone wearing some amazingly detailed mask. The waiters even wore small simple mask as they walked around holding a silver tray filled with champagne flutes.

Emma was happy that she had decided to rent a gown instead of just wearing a simple dress, seeing how the amount of trouble the guest went through. She had decided to wear a strapless gown made of feathers; the top was covering her chest with black feathers and from the waist down the skirt of the dress was covered with white feathers. She had completed the look with a pair of silk gloves that reached her elbows, and a silver mask with two big feathers, one white and one black, on the right side of it. Her hair was pulled up in a high bun, a small pair of black earrings and she decided to leave her neckline free.

As she walked around the room with a champagne glass in her hand and her clutch in the other and she found the bar and some small banners a lot of different labels of rum displayed and she couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her lips.

“Care to share what is so funny Swan?” A lilted voice came from behind her ear, making her jump slightly and turn around to look at the stranger in question.

 

“Swan?” She asked him wondering how he knew her name, as she inspected him. He was tall and lean, dark hair, his mask black leather mask making his blue eyes so blue that she wondered if such color really existed. He had a stubble covering his cheeks and jaw, and despite having a black leather mask covering half of face she could tell he was handsome. He was wearing a simple classic black tuxedo.

“The gown and mask, I gather that you have decided to dress as a swan.” He explained after taking a sip of his glass, his other hand gesturing at her outfit.

“I might be, what about you?” She asked tilted her head to the side, eyebrow raised, an arm wrapped around her waist, holding her champagne with the other hand.

“I’m devilishly handsome.” He smirked down at her, taking a step forward towards as he invaded her personal space.

Emma rolled her eyes at him, not moving an inch when he got closer to her. She lifted her head up and caught his blue eyes roaming her body, paying some attention to her chest. She felt her heart beat faster, as she felt this rush of lust course through her as she inhaled his scent.

“Where are my manners, I’m Killian.” He told her with a husky voice that made her abdomen tighten, and felt this liquid heat rush down south. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat softly before speaking.

“Nice to meet you Killian.” He chuckled when he saw her resistance to reveal her name.

“And what about you Swan, care to share your name?”

“Mmm, let’s just stick with Swan.” Her voice came more flirtatious and sultry than expected.

 His eyes searched her his tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip, her eyes following the movement and she blushed when he smirked at her, knowing that she was caught gawking at him.His face leaned closer to hers, his lips almost touching hers, and she was convinced that if she tilted her head slightly their lips could touch.

“So tell me, _Swan_ , what brings you here?” Killian asked her as he finally leaned backwards, making the burning heat that had ignited between them go away, a soft cold breeze brush her exposed skin.

“I’m an accountant in charge of the budget that is given to the foster care system. What about you?” They both took a sip of their glass as he eyed her with a small smile.

“You really don’t know who I am do you?” He seemed amused by the fact that she actually didn’t.

“Should I?”

“Perhaps.” He simply answered with a toothy grin. She didn’t know if it was the champagne, the fact that they didn’t really know each other, and the festive ambiance, but Emma had to fight the urge to slap that smile off his face or just kiss him senseless.

Deciding to do something about the tension that had settled deep down in her stomach, she took his hand in hers and dragged him out of the reception hall. As she sneaked them out, and brought him into a far corner of an empty and deserted corridor. She left him standing behind her for a second as she made sure that no one went through there. When she decided it was secluded enough she turned around to face him.

“Care to tell me what we are doing here love?” Killian asked as she walked towards him, locking her eyes with his and fell on her knees, her head levelling his crotch. She saw him take a sharp intake of breath as her hand went to fumble with the zipper of his dress pants.

She palmed his half hard cock through the fabric of his boxer, as she slowly worked him up, the other hand teasing the skin under the waistband of his underwear. Releasing his bulge both of her hands went to pull down the fabric and released his silky length, her mouth watering as she saw how gorgeous he was.

She grasped him with one hand, pumping him slowly as the other hand rested on his thigh, helping her keep her position. Leaning her head forward, she darted her tongue out as, stroking his length from base to tip. Swirling her tongue teasingly around his tip, she felt his hand grasp the back of head, wanting to keep her just where she was.

“Fuck Swan, stop teasing.” He begged her his voice a complete wreck, which made her smile proudly, and looked at him as she opened her mouth wide and took half of him, as she swallowed her cheek adding pressure on his cock. Moving her head back and forward, her tongue massaging the underside of his length as she moved.

She let him out of her mouth, and replaced her lips with her hand as she started stroking him at a maddening pace as her other hand cupped his balls through his pants, making his hips jerk at her touch.

His breathing was now quicker and breathier, the only sounds coming out of his mouth was the occasional curse, groans and grunts. She waited for him to be utterly wrecked and almost over the edge before taking him back in her mouth, this time taking him as deep as she could, until he reached the back of her throat.

Killian whimper at her actions, his head hitting the wall behind him while his hand grabbed her bun, and held it tightly as he spurred his seed down her throat. Emma sucked him clean as he came down from his orgasm, and let go of her hair. She released him and tucked him back in his pants, and raised herself up and wiped the back of her hand over her mouth to make sure there wasn’t any trace of what she had done to this stranger.

Looking back at him, she saw his cheeks flushed his eyes heavy with post-coital bliss and felt a pang of embarrassment with the reckless actions. Realising she couldn’t go back to the event without looking at him properly, she turned around and just walked down the corridor with fast steps, well as fast as her gown and shoes will let her.

“Swan!” He yelled back at her, wanting her to turn around but it was too late, since she had already left the hotel.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma spent the rest of the weekend in her apartment doing some cleaning as she tried to stop thinking of Killian, a complete stranger. She still couldn’t believe what she did and blamed the champagne, even though she only drank one glass of it. She had never done something this reckless, as to grab a stranger and just give him oral sex because she felt like it, it wasn’t _like her_.

Once in a while, she’d have a one night stand, but at least she had talked with the guy for more then 10 minutes, which wasn’t the case with the British man named Killian.

She didn’t know who he was, what he did, and what he was doing there. At least she wore a mask that hid most of her face, so if she ever bumped into him again, he wouldn’t recognize her. Another advantage for her: he didn’t know her name. Well he _did_ know her last name, but that was a lucky guess and she didn’t confirm any of it with him.

When Monday arrived, she was glad to go back to her routine and hoped that the incident, as she called it, will just fade from her memory eventually. The elevator door opened and Emma walked down the neon-brightened hallway and stopped when she reached her cubicle.

She brought her hand under her thigh and smoothed the material of her black skirt before sitting down on her rolling chair. Sighing when she saw the stack of paperwork she had, Emma decided to go make a huge coffee pot knowing that she will be needing something to keep her concentrated.

Coming back to her assigned desk with a hot cup of coffee, she sat her mug next to her keyboard and took out her black-rimmed glasses and put them on. She opened her computer and waited for it to open so she could start her work. She spent all morning developing and analyzing a new budget for the foster care system, and took into account the massive amount of money that had gathered at the charity event.

 

The moment she thought back about that ball, she couldn’t keep her mind from wandering back to the handsome dark-haired man, making her cheeks flush. She shook her head slightly, chastising herself for thinking of him. As she moved her hand awkwardly wanting to reach her mug, she knocked it over her desk, the cold coffee spilling on her white blouse and on her desk.

“Fuck!” She inspected her blouse and saw a brown stain on it, just over her right breast.

Leaving her cubicle, she walked over the ladies’ room, hoping to get rid of the stain as best she could. She passed by a small crowd that had gathered up near the entrance, and didn’t think much of it, since her focus was to clean her blouse. Entering the bathroom, she went to the sink and turned on the faucet as she dampened the stain with some water.

When she took out most of the coffee stain and went to the hand dryer and stretched the fabric under it, the sound of the dryer reverberated across the bathroom. The door swung open and Mary Margaret entered the room, clearly excited.

“Oh, Emma, here you are!” She said with her sweet voice.

“You were looking for me?” Stepping back from the heat, her blouse now dry again, she turned around the petite brunette.

“Haven’t you heard? Mr. Jones – well one of them – is here to tell us how much he enjoyed hosting this event for us.” She explained excitedly as she washed her hands.

“That’s nice of him.” Emma smiled back at her co-worker before turning around towards the door.

“Yes, Killian Jones really is the gentleman people say he is.”

Emma’s hand froze on the handle of the door upon hearing the name of one of the CEO of Jones & Jones Inc.

“Emma, are you okay?” Asked Mary Margaret as she rested one of her hands on Emma’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled at her and opened the door, and walked slowly over the small crowd that haven’t moved, and deduced that he was at the center of it. She had to make sure that it was (or wasn’t) him. She was behind the crowd, and was grateful to have worn high-heeled shoes, which gave her a few extra inches, and craned her neck to take a look at him.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw his back, she was almost a hundred percent sure that it was him; she just needed him to turn around. She started to circle the crowd, when he suddenly shifted on his feet, exposing most of his face, making her jaw drop. He may have no mask on, but she would recognize those sparkling, deep, blue eyes anywhere. When he opened his mouth to speak to one of her coworkers, she recognized his lilted accent that made her walls clench just hearing him.

Emma cursed under her breath and quickly left the small gathering of people and went to hide herself in her cubicle. She didn’t want him to see her, she wasn’t exactly sure if he’d recognize her without her mask and with her glasses on, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Staring at her computer screen, she tried to get herself back to work and forget about Killian, but the task proved to be quite difficult, knowing that he was still sauntering around. Too curious to stay still, she got up from her chair to look around beyond the half wall of her workspace and didn’t see him around.

“Nice little office you’ve got there, Swan.” A familiar voice made itself heard behind her.

“Jesus!” Emma cursed as she jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around with a hand clutching her chest. Her lower back was pressed at the edge of her desk and skin pressed harder on the furniture as he walked into her small cubicle and came to stand a few inches from her, his intoxicating scent invading her personal space, as she felt the pressure building below her abdomen.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, you didn’t let me return the favour the last time we saw each other, I thought I could stop by and make it up to you.” He smirked down at her, and god he was even more gorgeous without that mask. She couldn’t stop the tempting images of him between her legs, lavishing her greedy core as she let herself succumb to pleasure. Her cheeks flushed and she damned herself for thinking such things.

“I mean what are you doing _here_? How did you find out where I worked?”

“You told me you were an accountant for the foster care system, so I decided to come down here and track you down.” He smirked down at her, his eyes roaming her body up and down, his gaze devouring her.

She felt her cheeks flush when the images and the sounds that escaped his mouth that night came to creeping into her head, making liquid heat gather between her inner thighs.

“Look, it was a one-time thing – it won’t never happen again.” She didn’t know if she was trying to convince him or herself at the moment. But the way he was looking at her right now, it was more for her so she could have some self-control. She didn’t know why she felt so bold and sexually aggressive when it came to him but it scared the shit out of her.

“Mmm, do you really believe that lie, love?” He asked her as he stepped in closer, his eyes falling down to her lips, the action making her panic. They might be in her cubicle, but people could still see them.

Her mouth agape, her eyes staring at his lips, Emma gripped her hand on the edge of her desk, as she needed something to hold onto. Her head was blurry with sexual need and answered his question in her head, ‘ _no’_.

“There are too many people here, let’s talk somewhere else. Go down the hall, second door on your right. I’ll be there in 2 minutes.” Emma managed to say to him as she meet his eyes, the blue almost gone now replaced with his dilated pupils.

He left her workspace, taking all the heat with him, and she took a deep breath now that the air was less thick with tension. She turned her head and bit her bottom lip as she saw him walk down the hall.

When her 2 minutes passed by, she followed the same path he’d taken and opened the door. It only took a moment after she entered the supply room when he attacked her mouth, pushing her back to the door. The kiss was sloppy and desperate, teeth biting the other’s lip and teeth clattering. Her body immediately responded to his as her hands went to grab a fistful of his hair and pulled him back.

His lips were now red and swollen, his eyes wild and she only had time to see a spark come across his eyes before he grabbed her by the waist and spun her around. She barely had time to put her arms forward as they came in contact with the door, her forehead resting on it while one hand groped one of her breasts through her blouse while the other moved from her thighs to her center, cupping her heat firmly.

Emma gasped at his touch and roughness, and felt guilty for letting him do what he wanted with her. The guilt was quickly replaced by an intense feeling of pleasure and desperation when his fingers pushed her damp panties aside and inserted two fingers into her throbbing slit, his mouth nibbling at her earlobe.

Biting back a moan, she couldn’t help but push her ass up and into him, as she felt his strained erection, the contact making him groan and increase the pressure of his thumb on her clit.

Feeling her release approach fast, one of her hands left the wall and went to hold his wrist in place as she held herself up with her forearm. Killian let out a raspy chuckle next to her ear, the vibration of his voice going straight to her core, making her walls squeeze his fingers.

“Oh fuck. Don’t stop.” Emma let out desperately, wanting to reach her peak.

“Come for me, Swan.” He grunted, pushing his bulge on her backside as he curled his fingers just right, massaging that spot frantically making her silently cry out her orgasm.

After letting her ride out her pleasure, he took his fingers out of her heat. She turned around, pressing her back on the door and looked at him with heavy eyelids as she watched him suck his fingers into his mouth, tasting her juices. _Damn him._

Straitening her clothes and hair, Emma tried to figure out what to say to him but before she could come up with anything he spoke.

“Have dinner with me?”

Her eyes widened and she wondered if she heard right.

“Seriously? You don’t even know my name.”

“I’m serious, and I’m hoping you’ll share that piece of information with me over dinner.” His eyes were playful but she could see that he was in fact serious, and could see the nervousness within him as he awaited her answer.

“Fine, one dinner and that’s it.” Emma cursed inwardly, wondering what the hell was wrong with her, why did she give in to him _again_?

“Here’s my card.” Killian told her as he took out a small rectangular piece of paper from the inside pocket of jacket.

“I’ll be waiting for your call.”

With that, he smiled at her and walked out of the supply closet, leaving her alone to think about what the hell she’s just gotten herself into.


	3. Chapter 3

For the rest of the day, Emma tried to forget her encounter with Killian in the closet. She still couldn’t believe what they had done, he was really making her desperate for him and do things that she would normally wouldn’t do.

Sitting at her desk in her white blouse with a faint coffee stain remaining on her breast, Emma twirled his business card in her hand, eyes fixated on it. He had asked her out to diner, but left the ball in her court. He didn’t ask for her number, her name, anything, she got to decide if she wanted to see him. A part of her wanted to because, well, why wouldn’t she? The man was gorgeous and he made her feel some unusual things even though he was still a complete stranger to her. And that is also the reason why she shouldn’t, he made her feel things she didn’t know were possible, and made her do things that she didn’t think she’d ever do.

Both times when he was standing too close to her something inside her snapped, her senses extremely aware of him, the way he looked at her, the deep sound of his voice sending shivers down her spine, the heat from his body, his unique smell making her body react, sending sparks of lust low in her abdomen. Finally putting away the card in her purse, Emma decided to concentrate on finishing her day before getting her head all mixed up with this situation.

She stopped by the liquor store on her way back home, sensing that she would need a glass of wine to help her take in what happened today. Walking down the hallway towards her door, she bumped into her neighbour.

 

“Hey, Emma.”

She smiled at Tink, a petite blond that lived next to her apartment. She had met her the first day she had moved in, and they became friends as they got to get to know each other over a slice of pizza and a beer on Emma’s living room floor.

“Hey Tink, how are you?”

“I’m good, are you just coming back from work?” She asked while Emma was getting her keys out of her purse and unlocking her door.

“Yeah, I had a long and exhausting day.”

“You seem like you did. I’m actually going to the grocery store to get something to eat, do you want me to stop by after and we can make ourselves some food and drink a bit?”

“Sure, I’d like that.” She smiled at her friend as she said goodbye to her, and went into her apartment and quickly headed to the shower to wash away her day.

A couple of minutes after she put on her yoga pants and tank top, there was a knock on her door, Emma walked over the door to welcome her friend over. Tink entered and made herself at home as she instantly went over her kitchen, taking out from her bag a box of frozen pizza, and preheated the oven while Emma poured them both a glass of wine.

They both sat on one of the stools in her kitchen as her friend asked her about her day. She told her about Killian, and how she met him at the masquerade ball a few days ago, and what happened between them (Tink’s eyes went wide as her mouth fell open), and told her the surprise visit he made at her workplace. She also told her what they ended up doing in a supply closet and how he asked her out on a date.

“Oh my god! Did you say yes?” Her friend asked as she refilled their glasses.

“No, I didn’t. He gave me his card, leaving up to me to decide whether I want to or not.” She took a sip of her glass and got up to check on the pizza.

“Did you call him already?” Emma turned off the oven, and went to get her oven mitts so she could take the food out.

“No, I haven’t.”

“What are you waiting for?” Asked Tink as she helped her friend and went to get the plates out of the cupboard.

“I don’t know if I want to go on a date with him.” She raised her eyes and saw her friend looking at her with an incredulous look.

“I mean, yes he’s gorgeous and sexy, and I’m pretty sure he must be amazing in bed with what I got the chance to experience, but I don’t know. He’s filthy rich and I bet his lifestyle must go against everything I believe in. I don’t think I can say yes.”

She finished cutting the pizza and put a slice on each plate and handed one of the plate to her friend, who was looking at her with a look that told her that she wasn’t satisfied with her answer.

“That’s not all, there’s more.”

Emma sighed, and told her one of the main reason why she was not quite sure about that date. “I don’t know why he wants to go on a date with me. I’m pretty sure it’s because he just wants to sleep with me and then go find himself another girl.”

“I don’t think so, I mean he wouldn’t have gone to that amount of trouble to see you again. He must like you and want to get to know you. And even if he doesn’t, take advantage of it and have fun with him. You should have a bit of fun in your life besides working and helping others.”

Emma took a bite of her pizza and thought about what her friend just told her. She had a point, even if Killian just wanted to get her into bed a couple of times, she might as well take advantage of it too, and if their two encounters as shown her, is that he probably show one hell of a good time. Without even thinking more about it, she put down her food on her plate and grabbed a napkin to clean her fingers and went to get her purse and took his card out, as well as her phone.

“You’re calling him?” Tink asked with a big smile, as Emma nodded to her friend. She composed the number on the card, and pressed her cellphone to her ear, and felt her stomach flutter as she heard the ringing.

“Hello?” His voice reverberated from the speaker of her phone, and felt herself get a bit more nervous. She cleared her voice nervously before speaking and started to pace around her kitchen.

“Hi, uh, this is Emma…Swan.” Her voice shook a little, and she was so grateful that he couldn’t see her right now.

“Swan.”

She could hear him grin on his side of the line as he said her name.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of you calling me at this hour? Miss me already?” He teased her and she couldn’t help but huff at his comment and roll her eyes.

A giddy smile made its appearance on her face, and felt herself blush when she saw that her friend was staring at her with a wide smile as she saw react to the man on the phone. “You wish. I’m actually calling you concerning the date you offered to take me on.”

“Oh, and what is your answer then?”

“I’ll go out with you. Friday, you can come and pick me up at 8.” She blurted out, and cursed herself for letting her nerves get the best of her.

“Perfect, see you on Friday, Emma.” He answered her, drawing out her name in a low tone, which made her thighs clench as she closed her eyes, imagining him murmuring her name into her ear.

Emma ended the call, and went to sit back on her stool and grabbed her glass of wine and took a huge sip of it, trying to calm her nerves.

“Wow, that man really must be something to make you nervous and giddy so easily over the phone.” Teased Tink as Emma sighed loudly.

“You have _no_ idea.”


	4. Chapter 4

The moment she came back from work, Emma got ready for her date with Killian. She felt nervous about tonight, since she didn’t know what to expect but she had a feeling that he would take her to a fancy restaurant and try to impress her, and she dreaded that part. She already had an idea of how that date would end, most probably both of them naked and her on her back as he thrust into her.

 

Just the thought of it was enough to arouse and kind of excite her for what might happen in the next few hours. After she had called him the other night, she kept overthinking about whatever _this_ was.

 

She had come to the conclusion that maybe they wouldn’t have anything in common and that his lifestyle might not be something she agrees to, she couldn’t deny that they were both attracted to each other physically and that there was a lot of sexual tension between them. And maybe, this date was a good way to let the tension fall a little and to just enjoy what their relationship might be – just sex.

 

When she got out of the shower she wrapped her towel around herself and tucked it in securely and went to her wardrobe to decide which dress she would wear. She finally opted for a sheer, black dress. The straps were made of white pearls and surrounded the neckline of her dress, the fabric was creased under the pearls and it feel down on her body so it was loose and comfortable and the hem of the dress stopped at her mid-thigh. Emma decided to go simple, pulling her hair in a high ponytail, and curl the tip of her hair, and put on a pair of pearl earrings. She also kept her make up basic, mascara, thin black line on her eyelids, and the most dazzling part of her make up, some red lipstick.

 

Her make up and dress on, she grabbed a pair of classic, black pumps and a small purse to bring with her, putting her wallet, keys, and phone inside. She looked at the time and saw that she still had fifteen minutes until he’d arrive, and she felt the nerves kicking in, and decided to pour herself a small glass of white wine to help her calm down. The moment she finished drinking her wine, the buzz from downstairs resounded in her apartment, telling her that he was waiting.

 

She grabbed her things, and locked the door behind her as she left her apartment and went to join him outside. She stopped and her eyes widened when she saw Killian wearing a simple, black suit and a white shirt without a tie, with a couple of buttons undone revealing some of the chest hair. Emma felt heat rush between her legs, and her mouth went dry as she took in his look as he was leaning his back on the limo, hands in his pockets, as he raised his eyes to look at her.

 

“I must say, you are a sight for sore eyes.” His eyes roamed her from head to toe and Emma felt her cheeks heat up when she saw him look at her as he darted his tongue out and caress his bottom lip. He pushed himself off the car and went to meet her halfway.

 

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” She told him, not wanting to tell him how good he looked because she had a sense that he knew.

 

His arm snaked around her waist, his hand resting on the small of her back, the simple touch making her knees weak, as he led her to the limo. He opened the door for her, and she glanced at him quickly before entering the car and saw a smug grin on his face, and followed her inside moments later.

 

As the vehicle started to move, Emma felt her previous nervousness multiply tenfold as he sat next to her. She gripped her clutch in a tight grasp and saw her knuckles go white, trying to put as much space between them, since she had this feeling that if she was sitting too close to him she’ll lose it and tear off his clothes before even making it to diner.

 

They made small talk as they headed toward the restaurant, making the sexual tension between them a bit awkward since they were both quite nervous. When they stopped, Killian got out of the car first and held his hand out to help her exit the limo. As she got out, she was careful to keep her dress down, knowing that it could easily raise quickly but then decided to tease her date a bit when she saw his eyes go dark as he looked at her long legs coming out from the car.

 

She smiled to herself when she started to head towards the restaurant and heard him behind her, clearing his throat as he followed her towards the entrance. When she made her way through inside, Emma looked around and thought that she was right about the restaurant, it was fancy. Big glass walls, high ceiling with, dimmed lights, tables with white tablecloth, and wine glasses waiting to be filled.

 

The hostess greeted Killian as ‘Mr. Jones,’ walking them to their table, far from the entrance at a more secluded table, where they would have some privacy. Emma could sense that he was a regular at this restaurant and wondered how many dates he’d brought here, and suddenly felt like just another bimbo to add to the endless list of this handsome, sexy, and rich Brit.

 

Killian held her chair so that she could sit before he walked around the table and settled himself on his.

 

“Well, aren’t you the gentleman? Picking me up in a limo, holding the door for me, making sure I’m well seated.” He raised an eyebrow at her, his usual smirk in place.

 

“Darling, I am always a gentleman. I always make sure a woman is well treated and pleased before anything else.” His eyes were fixed on hers, and she felt the corners of her lips tug upward slightly, and felt a shiver run down her spine sensing that his words weren’t only applying to his general attitude but also to a more intimate one.

 

She managed to move her eyes from his entrancing blue ones, and opened the leather menu and skimmed through it wondering what she would order. The waiter came to their table with a bottle of red wine in hand, and greeted Killian formally and asked him if he wanted the usual. He looked at her silently asking her if she wanted to have a drink and she nodded at him.

 

Moments later the bottle was opened and poured the red liquid in their glass. They both lifted their glass and clanged them together before they each took a sip. Emma was grateful to have a sip of a good wine to help her ease her nerves and maybe loosen her up a bit.

 

They were kept busy as they both studied the menu, temporarily pausing the electricity coursing between them. After they gave their order, they both cleared their throats and gulped some more wine before started to talk about the usual first date conversation, which didn’t last long before the playful banter started.

 

Halfway through the date the banter switched to some innuendos on both parts, making Emma slowly lose some of her inhibitions, but it was getting very hard to keep herself in check when he was looking at her with hooded eyes filled with lust and she really hoped they would leave the restaurant soon.           

 

Deciding to let him know of her intentions, she grazed her foot slowly up his calf and up until she reached his inner thigh. Killian’s body went stiff when he felt her foot, and she smirked at herself for making him nervous.

 

He lifted his eyes to hers, and when he saw her intentions written all over her face, he grinned at her and raised his hand to catch the attention of the waiter to ask him the check. After he paid for their meal, they got up from their chair, and walked towards the exit, Killian hot on her heels, and quickly entered his limo as he told the driver to head to his penthouse, and specifically telling him that he doesn’t want any interruption unless it’s them arriving to destination.

 

Emma felt a pang of lust rush through her veins, feeling her core burning for him when she heard his voice hoarse as he gave his driver his directions. When the tinted glass went up, she felt his lips crash on hers, one hand cupping her cheek the other grabbing her ponytail and twisting his hand in her hair, pulling her head back so he could deepen the kiss.

 

She moaned into his mouth at the roughness of his actions, and he growled in response as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her on his lap, so that she straddled him. His lips left a hot trail down her throat, as he nibbled the skin where neck and shoulders met. She threw her head back when he lifted his hips, and met her burning heat as he pushed down her hips with his hands on each side.

                                                                     

They kept grinding their hips together, creating some friction between them as Emma felt him press his bulge onto her covered core. His mouth was on hers, swallowing the sounds of pleasure that was escaping her lips. One hand trailed under her dress and up over stomach until he reached one of her breast and groaned when he realised she wasn’t wearing a bra.

 

“Have you been thinking about this moment when you agreed to this date?” He asked her huskily while both of his hands were on her breast, fingers rubbing and pinching her nipples, making her even more aroused.

 

“To be honest, it’s all I could think about.” She answered her voice way breathier that she thought she would sound, as she kept swaying her hips seeking for some sort of release when she felt the first sparks of climax building in her abdomen.

 

“Well then, I’ll make sure to make the most of this date and make you come over and over throughout the night.”

 

Killian felt her desperation and moved one of his hands off her breast and between her legs, pressing on her clit over her soaked panties, moving his fingers in circles until her body went still, her eyes closed while her orgasm coursed through her in waves. She rested her forehead on his while she came down from her high as the limo stopped and they heard the driver telling them they had arrived.

 

She pulled herself off him and try straightening herself a bit before they both exited the car and walked into the building way too eagerly. They attacked each others lips once again the second the door of the elevators closed, Killian pushing her back on one corner. When the doors opened, she pushed him out, never detaching her lips from his, wanting his body heat on hers.

 

He unlocked the door that led to his penthouse and both stumbled inside. Her back hit the closed door, as he pressed his knees between her legs nudging them apart, both hands going behind her knee, curling her legs around his waist as he lifted her.

 

Killian moved them to the bedroom and dropped her on her feet and twirled her around so her back was pressed on his chest. She instantly pushed her backside on his bulge while his hands went to the hem of her dress and pulling it upwards wanting to rid her from her clothes, his hands caressing her naked flesh in the process as he left her in her lace panties and heels. She made to take off her shoes, but he murmured him in a husky voice to keep them on, sending another jolt of lust through her.

 

Emma turned around to face him, needing to feel his skin under her palms. It was now her turn to disrobe him, and left him in his boxer briefs while her hands and eyes explored his chest covered with dark curls, leaving a small path downwards, through his firm abdomen, and hiding under his underwear, where she could see his prominent arousal.

 

“Enjoying the view?” He teased her while she took in how great he looked, and raised her gaze to his.

 

“Are _you_?”

 

“That I am.” He cast her a predatory grin and pushed her down on his king-sized bed and lifted one of her leg up kissing his way down as he kneeled on the floor. His mouth was now near her the place she needed him most. She sensed what he wanted to do, but she wanted more, needed more. The two times they have seen each other had given her a good glimpse of what he might be in bed, and was too hungry for him to let him take his time. They will have time for that later tonight.

 

“Killian, I want you inside me.”

 

“Patience love. I will … eventually.” His answer made her groan in frustration as his fingers played with the fabric of her panties, his breath hovering her center. He tugged down her panties, pushing it down her legs leaving her completely bare and exposed to his hungry gaze. He leaned in between her thighs and kissed softly her lips softly.

 

A quiet sob followed by a gasp came out of her mouth as he kept brushing his lips over her center, the tip of his fingers parting her folds, and teasing her entrance,

 

“I can’t wait. I need you inside me.” She whimpered as his mouth latched to her clit, tongue swirling around her bundle of nerves, two fingers thrusting inside her, making her eyes roll at the back of her head.

 

“Ever since I had you in my mouth, I’ve been wondering how you would feel moving inside me.” She told him her as she started to feel herself lose herself in the pleasure he was giving her, but it was still not enough.

 

Killian groaned at her confession, his hands leaving her center and grabbing her hips, fingers digging into her flesh as he lifted her and turned her around so she was now on her stomach.

 

“On your knees.” His commanding voice laced with lust resonated across his room, as she felt him shift behind her, and heard the sound of a plastic wrap getting torn open and moments later felt him _there_.

 

The tip of his cock pushed through her entrance, and Emma closed her eyes as she felt him stretch her in an agonizingly slow manner, feeling all of him, until he was seated inside her. He stayed still not moving an inch, until she felt his chest hair brushing the skin on her back, his hand resting on her shoulder, his breath on her ear.

 

“Is this what you wanted?” He asked her as he pushed his hips into her, making him go a bit deeper.

 

“Y-yes.” She whimpered, and felt him chuckle as he straightened himself, his hand moving from her shoulder and went to place his palm between her shoulder blades pushing her upper body down on the mattress, making her backside go up, granting him better access and a better view.

 

“Good.” He simply answered as he started to move his hips in a very calculated manner, his thrust hard and deep, hitting that spot every single time. She grasped the sheets beneath her needing something to hold onto, while he pounded her good. She could feel his throbbing cock move inside her, every thrust giving her in an incredibly amount of pleasure as she moaned into the bed. His hand on her back moved and grasped her pony tail as he pulled her upper body up, and she balanced herself on her hands.

“I want to hear every single sound coming out of your mouth.” She didn’t think she could be even more aroused but apparently he could make her with his words only. She moaned in response as he continued to take her from behind.

 

“Touch yourself.” He ordered her and she obeyed almost instantly, one hand leaving the mattress and going for the place above where they were both joined and rub tight circles on her clit.

 

Sparks started to prickle in her low abdomen when she felt her upcoming release show itself as he continued to smack his hips on her ass, grunting at each thrust. She cried out a moan as she felt her orgasm invade all of her senses while Killian slowed his pace, helping her ride out the sensations.

 

He released his hand from her hair and grasped her hips as he pulled himself out and turned her around so she could lie on her back, his mouth attacking her warm heat, licking away any trace of her release. He kept lapping at her folds wanting to taste her and wanting to make her come undone with his mouth only. His arms curled around under her thigh, his hands now resting on her hipbone as he kept her firmly in place. It didn’t take long this time for her to come again, her body being extremely sensitive to his attentions.

 

Killian licked her slit languidly one last time before raising his head and levelling it with hers, kissing her fervently, making her moan into the kiss as she tasted herself on his red swollen lips. His hard length brushed her core, and they instinctively moved their hips and he slipped inside of her in one movement. Emma planted her feet on the mattress and pushed her hips in time with his, as they found a perfect rhythm for them, as she felt every inch of him thrusting in and out of her.

 

His mouth was at the base of her throat nibbling and biting on her flesh, and she just knew that she would have bruises in the morning but she couldn’t bare herself to care when everything he as doing was exhilarating and amazing. She clawed her nails on his back, leaving half-moons prints on his skin as she felt her third climax reach senses and moaned so loudly (something that she never did) when she finally tumbled over the edge and she was almost convinced that his neighbours downstairs might have heard her, but she didn’t care.

 

He moved his hips a couple of more times before stilling his body as he groaned into her neck as he came. When he regained enough energy to move, he pushed himself from her and cleaned himself briefly, and took her shoes off before tugging her to his side as their limbs went numb and both fell into a peaceful slumber.

 

Emma woke up a couple of hours later feeling sore and sated, but still wanting more as she told herself that she might not have more of this mind-blowing sex with him again. Deciding to take advantage of his peaceful state, she palmed his length until he was half-hard before taking him in her mouth. She felt him shift suddenly and knew that he was definitely awake when his hand went to rest on her head, encouraging her to continue as he moaned himself awake. They spent the rest of the night enjoying themselves a couple of more time before letting their body relax and regain some energy.

 

When morning came, Emma stayed in bed watching him sleep wondering what this night meant. He looked so peaceful and innocent as he slept, and she couldn’t help the smile that made it’s way through. But this didn’t change the fact that she knew nothing about him, and as she looked around his penthouse, she knew that the lifestyle he had wasn’t something that she was attracted to. She did have a good time at the restaurant, but they didn’t have anything to really talk about, and she went into that date knowing that. She knew that the only thing they would have in common and work well together was the sex, and rethinking of everything they did since they entered that limo, she knew she was right.

 

She finally managed to tear her body away from his, and went to get her dress that was lying on the floor at the bottom of the bed and grabbed her panties. She took her shoes in her hand, not wanting to wake him up, knowing that if he did, he would insist on making her stay for a while longer.

 

Entering his kitchen, she saw some blank pieces of paper, and took one as she took out a pen from her purse.

 

_Thank you for last night, I had an amazing time._

Leaving the note on the counter in visible way so that he wouldn’t miss it, she walked towards his door and left, putting that night behind her and moving on with her life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! Sorry I took me so long to update this story, I got sidetracked by other fics, and secret santa and also life. I really hope you like this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it! Reviews are always welcome since they always motivate me to update faster!
> 
> Thanks to my lovely Nicki aka oncertwice for editing this chapter, and being always so supportive!
> 
> Read and enjoy!

Moving on from that night proved to be more difficult than Emma had anticipated. She had thought that after allowing herself one night of pleasure with Killian, she would have taken that need out of her system and she’d be able to return to her usual routine.

How wrong she was.

The day that followed their night together, she felt sore between her thighs in the most satisfying way. She tried to forget about the previous night, but it proved nearly impossible, the soreness she felt was a vivid reminder of their activities. The days that followed proved to be just as challenging as she kept thinking how he felt inside her, how he managed to make her lose control over herself as she just let lust take over her.

It was the end of the week and Emma was at work and was trying to concentrate. Her thoughts wandered to him every now and then, distracting her from her task. She was glad that he hadn’t tried to reach her after their date, and probably understood the hint behind the note she left him. But there was a small voice inside of her, that wished he had tried to contact her if only to have another ‘tryst’.

Emma shook her head, trying to get rid of the dark-haired man with piercing blue eyes, and looked at the time.

It was already the end of the day, she really hadn’t seen the day go by, being too busy on trying to catch up on work. She put away her paper documents in its folder, saved the important documents on her computer and then cleared her desk for the weekend.

She took her purse and cast a last look on her cubicle to make sure she didn’t forget anything and walked down the row of desks as she headed for the elevators. She wished a polite ‘Good weekend’ to some coworkers, and was stopped by her black-haired pixie cut colleague.

“Hey, Emma!” She stopped mid-step and turned around to face Mary Margaret and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m going out for drinks with some people tonight. Do you want to join us?” She asked hopeful that she would accept. Emma normally didn’t like hanging out with her colleagues after work hours, but she felt as if she could use the distraction.

“Sure, why not. Where are you guys going?”

“At the Red Woods. We’re going to be there around seven.”

“Good, I’ll head home and shower and come join you.” Mary Margaret mouth widened, happy in her answer, and chirped a ‘see you later.’

Emma didn’t normally hang out with people from work, especially on a Friday night which was usually the night where she and Tink decided to get drunk either at her place or at Tink’s.

Every now and then the petite brunette would invite her to join them and she would always politely decline or found a plausible excuse not to come. It was no wonder that Mary Margaret was caught by surprise when she finally agreed.

She decided to go in hopes to push a certain dark-haired-blue-eyed man out of her head, and find another man to satisfy her needs, and replace the images from last weekend with another attractive man.

The moment she arrived at her place she got rid of her work clothes and jumped in the shower. After washing off her day off her, she went to her room and tried to find the perfect dress for the evening. Something sexy but not too sexy, not wanting to look like a slut while going out with her coworkers.

She opted for a red strapless dress, there were two layers to it. The first layer was hugging her curves perfectly the hem of her dress stopping mid-thigh. The second layer of the dress was falling down from the top with a sheer material, and was pleated a the top. The final touch of the dress was a thin red rope that circled her waist. She finalize her outfit with a pair of classic black high heels. She decided to keep the rest of her appearance simple as she straightened her hair and applied a dash of mascara.

When she finished getting herself ready, Emma grabbed her black fitted blazer and her purse and left her apartment so she could join her colleagues. The walk to the bar was fairly short, and the only thing going on her mind was that she needed to get laid tonight.

The moment she entered the bar, her eyes scanned around the place to find her friends, and to check if they were any potential man to seduce. There were a couple of handsome guys in the place, and spotted one or two that might do the trick. She finally spotted her friends and decided to have a couple of drinks with them before going out there to flirt.

Her coworkers greeted her with a loud cheer, most of them surprised to see her there. Jefferson poured her a glass of beer from the pitcher that was on the table. She took the glass and thanked him before gulping down the whole thing. All eyes were set on her, she could feel it, as she finished the sipping the last drop and deposited the glass back on the table.

"Wow. You were thirsty." Jefferson commented with a smile as he refilled her glass.

"Yeah well, it’s Friday and I had a hell of week." She smiled at him and silently thanked him for pouring her another glass and both toasted before she sipped a bit more slowly this time.

The evening was going on surprinsgly well, she really didn’t expect to actually have fun with her coworkers.

Well, to be fair, she had spent most of her time with Jefferson, with whom she barely exchange any words with at work, since she always thought he was a bit weird. But tonight, he was good company and, in fact, quite attractive.

Emma had to remind herself that she just wanted to scratch an itch, so it was probably not a good idea to have a fling with a co-worker. But when he closed the space between them a bit more, his hand casually brushing her arm or waist, she saw that he wanted her.

It wasn’t a good idea, but the fact that she had a couple of drinks and shot inside her made her judgement a bit fuzzy, and actually considered it. He was being pretty forward and was quite handsome, maybe just this once.

Emma took a last sip of her drink to give her a bit of liquid courage. Her hand then went to his chest, from another point of view, it looked as if she was just tapping on his chest after telling a funny comment. Her hand trailed down and went to settle on his belt and tugged lightly on it, her eyes fixed on his. He followed her every movement as she leaned in, her mouth hovering over his ear.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” She whispered as she released her hold on him and then proceeded on walking off with a extra swing in her hips.

She walked down towards the corridor that led to the ladies room, and as she reached for the door knob, she felt a presence behind her.

It didn’t take long for her and Jefferson to go inside the single bathroom, lips fusing together and hands roaming each others bodies. Relief started to wash over her as she let herself succumb to her primal needs, but after a while, something didn’t feel right.

He was good kisser but he didn’t kiss her with the same want, need and desperation that Killian made her feel. His hands felt good on her, but not has good as him. The whole point of this, hooking up with someone random, granted he was a colleague but still, was to forget about Killian. She couldn’t, she was just comparing this other gorgeous dark haired man to the one she really wanted to fill her up.

He pressed his hips between her parted ones, and felt his arousal press against her. The action made her eyes open wide and realized that she couldn’t go through with this.

Both her hands went to his chest and pushed him back with a bit of force, the alcohol making it hard to judge her strenght. Jefferson stumbled back a bit dazed and confused.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I can’t do this.” She panted as she straightened her dress and hair, before heading towards the bathroom door. She stopped briefly before opening it, and turned back around to look at him one more time.

“This never happened.”

With that she left the room and went back to where all of her other coworkers were and grabbed her things and bid them goodnight.

The cold night breeze caressed her warm and flushed skin as she hailed for a cab. She gave the driver the adress and fidgeted on her seat wondering if she was doing the right thing. She already made a fool out of herself earlier tonight, but she wanted to see him, needed to see him.

When car stopped in front of his building, Emma paid the cab driver quickly and hopped off. Her walk was decisive as she entered the building. Her eyes searched through the list of tenants and stopped when she saw Jones and typed the numbers next to his name on the small metallic keyboard. The ringing sound was innerving as she was impatient to hear his voice.

It was taking a while and she suddenly started to wonder if maybe he had another woman with him, the thought alone make her stomach twist in jealousy and anxiousness. He finally answered, his voice was groggy, she probably woked him up, and she honestly didn’t care, she actually felt somewhat relievd.

“It’s Emma.” There was a silence, the static of the intercom and her heavy breathing being the only sounds being heard. A loud beep echoed from the locked door, a small green light indicating her that it was unlocked. She made a beeline for the door and entered further into the building until she reached the elevator.

She reached his floor and when she reached his door, she hesitate a bit. Taking in a deep breath, she lifted her hand in a fist and knocked on his door.

This time his response time was faster to open the door. His hair was tousled, his eyes still half-open, chest bare, and sweatpants hanging low on his hips, he clearly just rolled out of bed. Emma took in his look, and rubbed her thighs together as a rush of lust went to settle between her legs.

Emma didn’t let him time to ask her what she was doing there, her hands instantly going behind his neck pulling him in to a fervent and desperate kiss. He was caught off guard, but quickly replied with the same passion, teeth nibbling at her bottom lips, his tongue caressing the swollen skin afterwards.

She moaned into the kiss when he pressed her flush to his chest, his hand grabbing a fistful of hair, tilting her head to the side so he could devour her properly. This. This was what she needed, to be wanted so desperatly, to be taken without delicacy, a sweet touch underneath each caress despite the roughness of the act.

Killian pulled her in his apartment and shut the door behind her before pushing her on the closed door, her back hitting the door as it took her breath away. His lips didn’t waste time to attack her neck hands pushing down the top of her dress, her breast bursting out of it. His big strong hands went pull and twist on her nipples, his teeth biting lightly on her collarbone as he head fell back.

Before she knew it, Killian fell to his knees, hands going under her dress and pushing down her lace thong. His fingers wrapped slightly around one of her ankles and tugged her leg out of one side of her underwear, and then propped the leg on his shoulder. He peppered open-mouthed kisses from her knee to her inner thigh, his mouth closing in to where she wanted him the most.

Suddenly, his breath hovered over her slit as she tried to balance her weight as to not to fall down. Her hand went to his head, for support and to give him the hint to get on with it. He lifted his blue eyes up to look at her, his eyes devouring her.

“I know what you want, love. But I want to hear you say it.” A shivre ran down her spine as she heard the sultry tone of his voice.

“I…I want you.” She mumbled, now eager for him to do something.

“Not good enough, Swan. Tell me. Tell me what you want me to do to you.” He was going to be the death of her she thought. Her breathing was coming out shaky and fast, her body trembling with not having what she wanted, craving him more and more.

“I want you eat to my pussy until I pass out, to fuck me hard until you and I can’t stand anymore. I want you to make me yours.” She blurted out, amazed that she had been able to let those thoughts out. KIllian looked at her with a satisfied smirk as she heard him reply ‘good girl.’

With that said, he leaned his face in, his tongue darting out to lap at her folds eagerly. his nose brushing her clit.

“Oh God. Yes.” She moaned as he went to suck and circle her bundle of nerves, two big fingers teasing her entrance and kept them there, never fully thrusting them in. She looked down at him and saw that his eyes had never left hers, and the moment their eyes met, pushed his fingers all the way in, curving them just the right way as he pumped them in and out of her.

“Come for me, Emma, I know you’re close.”

He added his thumb, caressing and adding a bit of pressure on her clit as he continued to feast on her dripping heat. She came with a loud moan, relief coursing through her in waves as she finally reached that peek that she was craving since she last saw him.

Killian helped her put her leg back down, as she was still leaning on his entrance door, trying to calm the hammering in her chest. He raised himself, his head now leveling with hers, lips seeking hers. She felt herself being raised and was brought to his room. Killian dropped his bed, sheets all russled from his sleep.

"Take off your clothes." He told her as he went to grab a condom from his drawer. She did as he said and took her dress off and tossed at the other side of his room. She did the same with her underwear and shoes as she looked at him take his sweatpants off, his cock springing free and slapping the skin of abs.

He crawled up to her after he rolled down the condom on his shaft and settled between her legs. His hand caressed her outer thigh sweetly, his face buried in her neck. Emma’s head tilted back, granting him more access as she arched her back, pushing her chest to his, her hard nipples brushing his chest hair.

She felt the tip of his cock nudging her entrance and before he could fill her up, she pushed him on his back and straddled his hips. Wrapping her fingers around him, a hissing sound escaped his lips as she raised herself and sank down on him, slowly, relishing on the sensations of him stretching her. Once he was fully inside her, Emma took a moment before she started moving above him, raising her hips up and down.

The sound of their skin smacking together, and their pants and grunts was the only sound that she heard. Her eyes closed shut suddenly when her second orgasm came rushing down unexpectedly, her strangled moan coming out of her as she slowed her pace.

Without warning, he flipped her around so she was flat on her stomach, legs stretched out. His hands went to each side of her head to keep himself up, the skin of his chest brushing the skin of her back as he started to thrust inside her, the new angle making them both moan loudly. It was getting hard for her to breath as she felt pressed between his firm body moving above her and the mattress but she couldn’t care less. He was giving her everything that she has been craving for the last couple of days.

"Fuck, Emma, you’re so bloody tight like this."

She could tell by the wrecked sound of his voice that he was close, and she could feel it by his erratic thrust. Wanting him to come above her, she squeezed the muscle of her walls and suddenly felt a sharp groan next to her ear, his hot breath pushing her hair out of the way.

Killian pushed himself up so he wouldn’t squeeze her, and went to lay on his back while Emma did the same. They stayed in silence for a moment, before he asked the question that she absolutely didn’t want to answer.

"Not that I don’t enjoy you surprising me, but care to tell me what brought you here? I mean for what I can understand by your little note, you were not interested in seeing me again." There was bitterness in his tone, not that she blamed him, but she felt this twinge of pain as she heard him.

"I didn’t. I.." She stopped, not knowing what to say more. Killian scoffed and sat at the edge of his bed and grabbed his sweatpants.

"Let me guess. You just wanted a good fuck?" His eyes were set on hers, and felt extremely vulnerable, well she was still naked.

"It was a mistake." She got up and did as him and went in search of her clothes.

"Which time? When you sucked me off at that ball? When you let me pleasure you in the supply closet? Oh wait, it must be the date." He enumerated as he walked towards her, pressuring her for an answer.

"All of it, okay? This – you and me – is a mistake. And yes I  came here for a good fuck! Happy?" She blurted out as she finished putting on her dress. She looked back at him, her eyes glaring. His eyes went from being angry to defeated, his shoulders slumping a bit.

"What is it that you’re afraid of? You haven’t even let yourself take a chance to see what this could be. You’re afraid."

Emma didn’t know how he could read her that well and it scared her even more than the possible feeling she could have for him.

"Yes. I’m afraid. You may not see it now, but I’m making yourself and myself a favor. Whatever this could be, will not work. It never does." They stared each other, Killian looking at her with a confused and hurted look. She couldn’t bear to look at him anymore so she bent down and grabbed her shoes and put them on before walking out of his bedroom.

"Don’t you trust me?" Yes. That’s what she wanted to tell him. She did trust him and that’s what scared her.

"No." She was surprised by her stern and cold voice, and felt herself chastising herself for making him hurt and using him the way she just did. She was saving them some trouble and pain. That was what she was trying to convince herself of, afraid that she wouldn’t believe herself anymore.

Emma grabbed her purse from the floor and walked out of his penthouse, not able to look at the Killian’s pained and hurt face.

The itch had been scratched, her need fulfilled, it was time to move on for good.

It was for the best.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This is just a quick update, it isn’t very long but it will settle the story for the next couple of chapters!  
> Thanks to Nicki ( oncertwice ) as always. I hope you like this chapter!
> 
> Read and enjoy!

Weeks had passed since Emma made her surprise visit to Killian’s.

She felt the same desire build inside her – the one that told her to go back there, to see him again and see where this thing between them could go. But she was stubborn and this time she managed to keep herself in check and ignored those impulses that he had awaken in her.

To keep her mind from wandering to him, she had volunteered on taking in extra projects and tasks. It worked perfectly. She was so focused on work that she rarely thought about him and most nights she got so exhausted that she didn’t even have the energy to think about what to do for supper.

Everything was going well.

That was, until today.

Emma entered the building with her coffee in a to go cup and walked over her cubicle with a decisive step. She dropped her mug on her desk and proceeded to turn her computer on as she went through her planner. She had a meeting with Regina and Jefferson in an hour, which gave her enough time to prepare herself.

 

Ever since that night at the Red Woods, things had been awkward with Jefferson. He had respected her wishes and pretended that their make-out session in the bathroom didn’t happen.

But, despite acting as if it hadn’t occurred, the tension was still there and it mostly came from him. He had attempted a couple of times in talking to her so he could get to know her a bit better but she as usual brushed him off like she did with every other man, even the ones she liked.

After skimming through some of the folders on her desk, she looked at the time and realized it was time to head over the conference room for her meeting with her boss and her co-worker.

She grabbed the documents she needed and headed down the hallway towards the conference room. The door was opened and Jefferson was already sitting on one of the leather chairs. A smile appeared on his face when he saw her enter the room greeting him quickly as she sat next to him. She deposited her documents on the big round table and reached over the table so she could grasp the carafe and pour herself a glass of water and then took a sip from it. She was really trying to avoid talking to him.

They waited in silence (well Jefferson did try to start a conversation, which Emma gently dismissed as she pretended to review her project) before Regina finally stepped into the room with her usual commanding presence and closed the door as soon as she made her way into the room. She greeted both of them with a voice that meant business and went to sit on the other side of the table so she was facing her and Jefferson.

Regina cleared her throat as she opened the folder she had in front of her. She finally raised her head up as her neck elongated, forearms resting on the table as she intertwined her fingers. She then proceeded on presenting them one of the projects that she had been working on.

“We recently did a tally of the amount of money we collected at the masquerade ball.” At he mention of the ball, Emma unconsciously shifted on her seat as she reminded herself on how she spent that evening. “The sum is enough for us to set the Savior Project in motion. I decided to appoint the two of you to make sure this project unfolds in a correct and precise manner.”

Emma’s eyebrows raised in surprise when Regina announced that she could be in charge of that project. Ever since it had been in the making, she had watched from afar the details surrounding it. It was a program where all the orphans who weren’t place in a foster home could have access to a person who would be assigned to them, to take care of him.

It was similar to the Big brother/Big sister program but this one was specifically aimed to the kids in the foster care system. It was something that she would have loved when she was in the orphanage, to have someone to rely on even if they weren’t placed in a family, they would still have this constant presence to keep them grounded, giving them some hope.

A smile crept onto her face as Regina gave them some documents with more details on how the project will be developed. Emma felt excited and thrilled on initiating this project, something that she thought was important and useful and she will be a part of it. She listented intently to every word her boss was telling them about their upcoming task.

“Also, you will not be working alone on this. One of the sponsors that helped us raised a good amount of money at the masquerade ball wants to be implicated in this project since it’s an issue they deem important.” As she finished announcing them that there will be another person working with them (which Emma was grateful since she wouldn’t be stuck with Jefferson and his endless efforst on wooing her) a knock on the door resonated in the conference room.

The three of them turned their heads towards the door as Regina gave the permission to the person on the other side to enter. Emma felt her breathing stop as she caught a glimpse of the man entering the room closing her eyes quickly, praying that it wasn’t the man she thought it was.

The newcomer finally greeted the three of them, the accent in his voice definitely the one she dreaded to hear over the past few weeks. She finally opened her eyes, jaw clenching as Killian sauntered in the room with a dazzling smile.

Regina raised herself up from her chair as she greeted Killian with a handshake, and then turned to them with a look that urged them to do the same. He turned his hand to Jefferson first and then focused his attention on her as his hand made contact with hers.

The moment she felt the warm heat from his hand it sent a jolt of electricity throughout her body as she her body remembered the wonders his hand made her feel and how easily he could make her climax. Emma’s cheeks were probably flustered at the thought that kept invading her mind and hope no one noticed.  

He caught her off guard when leaned forward, his lips brushing lightly over the skin of her hand, his eyes locked on hers. She cursed him inwardly and hoped that he heed the warning written all over her eyes, Killian caught her message and only smirked at her.

The four of them finally sat down at the table, Killian next to Regina which meant he was in front of her. Emma tried to avoid looking in his direction but it was hard not to, especially since she has been craving him so desperately. She had thought that had almost managed to get him out of her system and was proud of herself for it. Seeing him there, with his dark blue suit framing his toned body and his eyes dancing subtly over her form, she found it hard to keep herself in check.

Damn him.

Emma now had trouble concentrating on what was being said, and almost snapped at Killian when he purposely grazed his foot on her shin under the table, her eyes instantly darting out to him warning him to stop which he must have found humorus since he just smirked at her. Bastard.

The meeting finally came to an end, the four of them standing up and stretching their legs. Jefferson expressed his enthusiasm on working with Killian before leaving the room while Regina thanked him for stopping by and then excused herself telling him she had another meeting to attend to. Emma lingered behind, wanting to have a word with Killian alone. When they other two finally left and closed the door behind then, she walked over to him.

Emma crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying to create a barrier between them since every time she was alone with him she tended to loose control of her inhibitions. Killian stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets, eyes roaming over her body the action only making her walls clench.

“Well this was a nice surprise.” He tells her with quirk of his eyebrow.

“Not really.” She dismissed him as she straightened her back and exhaled loudly. “Let’s make one thing clear: whatever happened between us in the past stays there. I don’t want Jefferson, or anyone here, to find out that we hooked up.” She told him firmly and moved past him and she could swear she saw him grin which frustrated her. Emma stopped after a few steps and turned back around. “Also, don’t get any ideas. It’s not because we are going to be working closely together that we are picking up from where we left off. It’s over.”

This time, she clearly saw him cast her a lopsided grin as he closed the space between, chest almost touching as his fingertips grazed the skin of her arm.

“I have no problem with that, love.” He drawled out as he leaned in, mouth hovering by her ear, teeth grazing her earlobe while his hand firmly grasped her behind, the action making her body jerk forward.

Her hips were now slightly pressed on his and felt the growing bulge underneath his trousers while his hands now went to venture under her skirt, slowly caressing her covered mound.

Emma tried as hard as she could not to let herself succumb to his touch and let her impulses win over her self control. She closed her eyes when he went to nuzzle her neck, while one hand went to caress lightly on her collarbone. She was about to push him off but before she could, Killian stepped back, taking all the heat that had enveloped her with him.

“But, you should remember who always comes back for more. Judging by the way your body is reacting right now, you should be the one who’ll need to keep it in her pants.”

With that said, Killian walked past her, opening the door of the conference room and winking at her before leaving Emma alone in the room, fuming over the turn of events.

_  
This was going to be hell._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys had a lovely weekend and I hope you’re prepare to face the apocalypse that will come down on the CS fandom tonight, and I’m pretty convinced that Colin is going to kill us with his handsomeness and usual self.
> 
> I have nothing really to say about this update despite the fact that I hope you’ll like it! of course thank you to Nicki ( oncertwice ) for beta-ing this chapter
> 
> Read and enjoy!

After the meeting, Emma managed to finish her day despite the fact that she kept reminding herself that she would have to work closely with Killian. She had tried to make things clear with him, that what happened previously between them were not to interfere with the project, it was too important for her to screw it up. As she should have expected, her speech backfired when Killian asked her if she’ll be able to contain herself when it comes to him. 

 

The more she thought about it, she actually wondered if she would be able to. He was right,  she was the one who decided to leave after he had fallen asleep and  she  was the one who came back for more and getting rid of him once again. She hated herself for acting that way with him, but the possible outcome of any type of relationship with him scared more than anything.

 

As she tried to sort her thoughts and feelings out, a headached made it’s way through and she decided to finish her week early. She texted Tink on her way out wanting to know if she was available tonight, since she was in desperate need to talk and in need of advice from her friend. When her friend replied and told her she was free she made her way towards the liquor store and bought a bottle of wine and comtemplated on buying a second (she really needed it). After debating with herself she finally settled by buying two bottles, if they didn’t drink the second she will have the second one ready in case of emergency (which she senses she’ll be having as soon as they really started working on the project). 

 

Emma stopped by her place and exchanged her work attire for her sweats before heading upstairs, where Tink’s appartment was. Once she arrived at her friend’s appartment, she didn’t even bother  knocking and let herself in as she greeted loudly to make her presence known. Tink yelled from the bathroom telling her she’ll be right out and Emma went into the kitchen as she headed for the drawer where Tink kept her corkscrew. The bottle of wine now open she headed for the cabinets and took two wine glasses and poured a generous amount of the red liquid in each. 

 

When the blond finally appeared in the kitchen, Emma had already gulped down a huge sip  making her friend raise an eyebrow at her, surprised she didn’t wait for her. She marched the few steps that was seperating her and Emma, and Tink took her glass.

 

She sensed byt the way Tink was looking at her that she was a tad worried about her, her stare making her uncomfortable as she fidget and drank another sip.

 

“Okay, what happened?” Tink finally asked as she settled herself on one of the chairs of her small dining table with her glass. Emma followed suit and went to sit next to her friend. 

 

“Remember I had that date with Killian a few weeks back?” As she mentionned the date, a shiver ran down her spine as she remember how that night ended and how good he made her feel, his mouth and hands everywhere exploring every inch of her skin making her reach new peaks of pleasure she had never thought she could reach. She pressed her thighs to relieve some of the tension that had sparkled between her legs and swallowed hard trying to shake away those indecent thoughts.

 

Tink’s eyes widen when she remembered the night where she pushed Emma to call him and to accept his offer of taking her out on a date.

 

“Oh yes! I’ve been so busy with work lately that I completely forgot to ask you how it went.” She could see that her friend felt guilty that she had forgotten to ask her about it, but to be honest she was quite relieved at the time since it was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

 

“Well the date went well, and we obviously ended up at his place.” With that last part she noticed Tink’s upper body lean forward clearly wanting to know if he was has good as Emma had presumed. 

 

“And yes he’s good, well that is an understatement, he is by far the best sex I have ever had the chance to experience but that’s not the point.” She shook her head as if the action would help her reorganize her jumbled thoughts. 

 

“O-kay. Did something happen after?” Her friend was obviously confused with where Emma was trying to direct the conversation.

 

“I happened.” With only those two words Tink seemed to understand and leaned back on her chair and let out a sigh.

 

“You ran again.” It wasn’t a question, she knew better than to ask her, knowing that running was what Emma was excelled at when it comes to relationships. She looked at the petite blond with guilty smile while Tink rested her hand on hers. 

 

“Oh Emma. Why did you run this time? You seemed to like him a lot." She asked, trying to understand what made those warning flags in Emma’s head wave frantically. 

 

"I  do  like him, and that's what scares me." She didn’t look her friend in the eyes, feeling guilty as it was for disappointing Killian that night, and that she ended up breaking his heart the night she literally used his body for her own needs.

 

"There's something else you're not telling me." Tink knew her too well and of course she sensed that there was more she wasn't telling her. She inhaled deeply as to gain the courage to relate the rest that happened with Killian and to actually talk of her current predicament. 

 

"A couple of weeks ago, I went to see him unannounced after I've had a couple of drinks. The moment we finished having sex we got in an argument and I just left set on not seeing him ever again." She paused and took one more sip as she emptied her glass and grabbed the bottle to pour more wine before she could continue. 

 

"Let me guess: you saw him again?" 

 

Emma nodded slowly. "This morning. He wants to cooperate with us to put in place the  Savior Project  and since I've been asked to supervise it, I'll be working with him closely for the next couple of weeks." She noticed her friend’s eyes widen at the last part while she mouthed a silent ‘ wow ’ 

 

“How was he? I mean, not physically, but how did he act? Was he mad?” Tink asked after she managed to digest the new development. 

 

“Not really. I mean we both acted like we didn’t know each other during the meeting, but he did try to catch my attention.” The feeling of his feet grazing her shin came back to mind, and perfectly remembered the sinful grin he casted her, the one he used when they were being intimitate.

 

“How?” Tink seemed to be captivated by Emma’s soap opera-like life as she took a sip of her wine, waiting for more details.

 

Emma inhaled deeply as she curled her legs under and started sharing every little detail of that meeting. How he’d teased her with his feet under the table, the knowing smiles he sent her and the talk they had at the end of the meeting, when everyone had left the conference room. She told her how she tried to make things clear with him and how he managed to rile her up with feather like touches and the sound of sultry voice leaving her confuse, angry and if she was being honest, aroused. 

 

“You’re in deep trouble.” Tink told her at the end as she couldn’t stifle her laugh which in turn made her laugh.

 

“Ugh, this is what I get for being a bitch.” Emma wined as she hid her face in her hands. Her friend’s chuckle diminished as her hand went to rest on her shoulder.

 

“Maybe, but you know what I think?” She lifted her head up her hands falling down as they went to rest on her lap, and with a discouraged look she waited for her friend to continue. “Maybe this is just a sign for a second chance. He seems genuily interested and if your fear is that you two don’t know each other enough, then that’s because knowing you, you didn’t let him. Get to know him and see where it leads you. And I’ll be here to slap some sense into you when you feel like running again, got it?” 

 

Emma smiled weakly at Tink. She hated to admit it but she was probably right. He never stood a chance when it came to push their relationship further, she kept him at arms lenght when it came to emotions but kept him close when it came to her lustful urges. Maybe there was a reason why she was so attracted to him from the day she met him at the ball. 

 

They spent the rest of the night catching up since they hadn’t been able over the past weeks to see each other as much as they wanted to, despite living a floor apart. They eventually opened the second bottle of wine and ordered a cheese pizza just before midnight. Despite the shock she had this morning and how pissed she was, the end of her day was quite pleasant.

 

-/-

 

The weekend went by fast while Emma tried to distract herself by cleaning her appartment, going out for grocery, going out for a run, anything to keep her mind off about what will be waiting for her on Monday morning. 

 

That morning, she entered the building with a determine step as she headed towards her cubicle. She had decided to exchange her usual pencil skirt for a pair of black pant suit a long sleeved white blouse, set on wearing the most unattractive clothes she had (while still looking professional) in attempt to keep Killian away. She knew it was ridiculous since he had already seen her naked a couple of times, but the look she had opted that morning made her feel as if she was wearing a barrier that will be able to repel him.

 

Setting her briefcase on her desk, she went through her usual routine as she checked her e-mails and went through her planner. Emma was leaning over her desk as she scribbled some notes and highlighted the important parts of the elaboration of the project. Jefferson stopped by with a stack of folders tucked under his arm, with his usual flanel shirt and thin black tie. 

 

He knocked on the half wall of her cubicle to make his presence known since she was absorb with what she was reading. The sound made her lift her head up with her eyebrows raised as she looked at her coworker.

 

“Mr. Jones is waiting for us in the conference room.” At the mention of Killian, Emma took a deep breath as to prepare herself for what was coming. She nodded at Jefferson and told him she will be there in a minute, and he reluctantly left her cubicle as he was clearly hoping to walk the small distance with her. 

 

She grabbed all the things she needed and made her way through the hallway at a slow pace. Stopping in front of the closed door, she inhaled deeply and quickly licked her lips and put on the most confident and indifferent look on her face and entered the room.

 

Her breath was knocked out of her as she laid her eyes on him, handsome as usual. The jacket of his dark grey suit was resting at the back of his chair, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbow revealing his strong forearms. He turned his head around when she entered the room, but quickly glanced away from her and resumed the vivid conversation he was having with Jefferson. 

 

Their whole meeting went on like that, Emma being ignored by Killian. Whenever she added something to the table, he would hum at her words and avoided to look at her and he always ended up talking to Jefferson asking  him  what he thought about the point they were trying to settle, never once asking her what  she  thought. Emma felt her blood boil through her veins, her cheeks going red with anger when he blatantly ignored her presence. 

 

Emma swallowed her anger not wanting to make a scene in front of her coworker, and told herself that she would corner him at the end of the meeting and ask him why he was treating her as if her opinion didn’t matter. 

 

Their lunch break arrived and Emma awaited for Jefferson to get out of the room, but he never did. He kept being engaged in a conversation with Killian as he dragged Jefferson out of the room as if they were the bestest of friends. Emma cursed under her breath and decided to make him pay for ignoring her at their next meeting. 

 

Two days later, Emma decided to fetch Jefferson before they headed towards the conference room. As they walked over there she chit-chated with her colleague, and from the look on his eyes he was quite pleased to see Emma engaging into a friendly conversation. As they passed by the threshold of the room, she noticed that Killian was already sitting there waiting for them. Her hand want to caress Jefferson’s arm in a flirty manner, making both of the men speechless, one of them quite pleased with her forwardness. 

 

Emma sat next to Jefferson so that Killian wouldn’t have any other choice than to look at her, which he did, an annoyed glint hovering behind them. She started off the meeting, not wanting Killian to lead the discussion. Everytime he tried to say something, she cut him off as she talked over him and finally managed to say everything that she didn’t manage to say at the last reunion. She avoided looking at him, just as he did, and noticed from the corner of her eye Killian clenching his jaw, his hands gripping his pen tighter. 

 

She occasionally added fuel to the fire as she laughed a bit too hard at some comments that Jefferson made, her hair swinging in the process. When the meeting finally ended, Emma took her time to grab her things while she asked Jefferson if he wanted to wait for her so they could grab lunch. 

 

Killian eavesdropped and then lingered in the room when her colleague left for his desk. She feigned ignoring his presence in the room and when she lifted her head and saw him standing next to her she acted a bit surprised. 

 

“Oh, you’re still here. Can I help you with something, Mr. Jones?” She asked him with a condescending smile. 

 

“Quit playing games with me, Swan. Don’t you think I don’t know what you’re doing?” He spat out as he leaned forward, the space between them getting limited. 

 

“What is that? Is it by any chance similar to what you were doing to me the other day?” Emma tilted her head, her eyebrows frowning in inquiry.

 

“What you’re doing is a lot worse. Flirting with an innocent man, granted a lucky man, but we both know who you would like to flirt with, don’t we?” His lips were now so close to hers that she could just lift her chin just a bit and they would be kissing and oh how she wanted to kiss him.

 

“Let me guess...  you ? Don’t flatter yourself. Now, let’s make one thing clear: this project is important to me and I won’t let you ruin this for me. You’ll treat me as you would any other coworker, agreed?” Emma was proud that she managed to keep her voice steady and stern.

 

With that said, she took a step backwards and took her things that were still resting on the table and walked past him and stopped just before she left the room.

 

“And for your information, Jefferson already made out. Don’t think you hold any power over me,  I  choose whoever  I want to be with.” 

 

She didn’t get a chance to see the look on his face as she quickly turned away and made a beeline to her desk. She dropped her things and grabbed her purse and made her way through to Jefferson’s cubicle with an expecting smile.

 

“You ready?” 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I’m soooo sorry that it took so long to update this story. My personal and professional life has been a real rollercoaster, which affected my muse badly. But now I feel a whole lot better and ready to write my ass off! I really enjoyed writing this story again and I really hope that you’ll like this chapter as much as I do.

Their lunch hour was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Emma and Jefferson barely talked to each other, and when they did, it was about the weather or telling each other some office gossip. Emma still had her latest encounter with Killian in mind, guilt and anger overwhelming her.

 

She honestly didn’t know how things escalated this quickly with Killian, playing nasty and childish games with each other. She knew that he started it because his ego was hurt when she decided to hastily end things, but it still wasn’t a reason for doing it in the work environment. One thing was sure, despite those petty fights, she wanted him,  badly,  and at the same time she wanted to keep him at arms length. She also felt bad in using her co worker to try and fulfill her needs that night a few weeks back and now using him again to spite Killian.

 

Emma was toying with one of her fries, swirling it around in the puddle of ketchup on her plate. Jefferson shifted in his seat, and cleared his throat as he did so. 

 

“Are you okay?” He asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

 

She smiled weakly at him as she dropped the frie back on her plate and grabbed her glass of coke. 

 

“I’m fine.” She lied as she took a sip. Jefferson gave her a look that told her he didn’t believe her.

 

“You sure? Ever since we left the office you seem… a bit off. Did something happen with Jones?” His question hit her straight in the chest, knocking the air out of her lungs. Emma tried to keep her face impartial, not wanting him to know the nature of her relationship with Killian.

 

“Yes, I’m sure. And nothing happened with him.” Jefferson tilted his head to the side, an eyebrow raised, with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

 

“What? Nothing happened.” She repeated, cursing herself when her voice went higher. 

 

“Okay. It’s just, ever since we started this project and that Jones has been working with us, the tension is pretty high.”

 

Emma exhaled softly. Clearly she wasn’t as good as she thought at hiding her emotions. She was biting her lower lip as she tried to think what lie she could tell him. Locking her eyes with him, she opted on telling him half of the truth. 

 

“It’s just that I think that his implication in this project is a hypocritical.” Jefferson’s eyebrows furrowed, clearly not understanding her.

 

“I just don’t understand why a man as rich as he is, and superficial may I add, wants to be implicated in such a project. I mean the man runs a rum company. I seriously don’t get why he is so eager on working with us, the ball and now the project.” She blurted out while he gave her a confused look.

 

“You really have no idea who he is besides being a CEO. Haven’t you read his bio before starting this project? I mean, his background is pretty much what makes the Jones brothers so respected.” Emma shook her head, now intrigued on what Jefferson might know about him. 

 

“Their story isn’t a story that is new, but they built this company with no money whatsoever. They were left orphans when their parents died when Killian was young, leaving Liam to take care of him. When they were both old enough, they used all of the money they had to leave England and settled themselves here. They worked non-stop and hard to get where they are now. And as for wanting to work with us, well being an orphan gives him quite the motivation to want to help kids in a similar situation.” 

 

Emma was blown away with what Jefferson had just told her, not quite sure what to say or think. She had clearly misjudged Killian, letting her presumptions about him cloud her judgement. Maybe the pull she felt for him wasn’t just physical but also emotional, wondering if that’s what Killian was trying to tell her that night, that she was afraid, afraid of discovering that there might just be something more to their relationship than mind blowing sex. He had probably had sensed it from the beginning. 

 

Her head was now spinning, trying to figure out what this information, not knowing what to do with it. She was still trying to make sense of it, and the impact it had on her own feelings towards him when Jefferson snapped her out of her thoughts telling her it was time to get back to work.

 

The rest of the afternoon was unproductive on her part as she just stared at her computer, as the content of her work starting to fuse into blurry shapes. Emma shook her head, trying to chase those thoughts who were confusing her to no end. Looking at the clock, she noticed it was nearing the end of her work day and decided to take an early leave and head home with a bottle of wine. 

 

The end of the week arrived, and it was time for another of their project meeting, with both Jefferson and Killian. Emma had spent the past three days pondering over what her colleague had informed her. She still felt confused on what to do, or feel, the only thing she did know was that she needed to apologize to him for assuming the worst of him and thinking he had nothing in common with her and that he would never understand her. She wouldn’t admit all of that to him, since she still didn’t know what she wanted, but she still needed to apologize for hurting his feelings and overall, for acting like a bitch. 

 

Her blood was speeding through her veins, stomach twisting as she anxiously prepared herself to enter the conference room where they would meet to work. Taking a deep breath to help her gain some courage, her trembling hand went to turn the knob and pushed the door open. To her disappointment, Killian was nowhere to be found, Jefferson the only one sitting at the big table. Emma walked over to a free chair next to her colleague and dropped her documents on the table as she tried to look casual.

 

“Where’s Mr. Jones?” She managed to ask Jefferson her voice somewhat steady.

 

“Didn’t you get the memo? He can’t come today, he has matters to attend to at his company.” Jefferson informed her whilst keeping his eyes fixed on his documents. 

 

“Oh. Okay.” Emma had a hard time hiding her disappointment, but maybe it was a good thing. It will give her more time to sort her feelings out before seeing him again.

 

Halfway through the morning, Regina entered the conference room with her usual commanding presence. They both stopped what they were doing and looked at each other nervously wondering if she wasn’t happy on how they were approaching the project. Regina sat in a chair in front of them, joining her hands together on the table as she looked at them. 

 

“First of all, I would like to congratulate you two for the work that you are doing, Mr.Jones informed me that you have been making a lot of progress and that he couldn’t be happier than to be working with you two.” 

 

Emma was taken aback with her boss statement, she appreciated that she gave them praise for what they were doing when normally she didn’t bother on commenting anything. It wasn’t only that, but also what she said about Killian, that he was happy to work with them. 

 

Was he really?

 

A voice inside her head told her that he was, despite all that crap that happened between them. She didn’t have time to ponder any further on the matter as Regina started to talk again,

 

“There’ll be a event at my house tomorrow night to promote this project to local organisations that had shown an interest in this. I request that you both be attending the event so you can inform those people of the progress you’ve been making.” Regina gave them curt nod and got up from the chair and was already almost out the door when Emma stopped her.

 

“Will Mr. Jones be there?” She asked not trying to sound too eager in her response and on the strong possibility on him being there.

 

“Of course he will. And by the way, it’s a black tie event, please come looking presentable. Now I’ll leave you two to work.” 

 

With their boss out of the room, Emma turned back to look at the stack of paper next to her and tried to busy herself and not let herself engulf by all of the mixed emotions that were occupying her mind. 

 

-/-

 

Emma spent her Saturday searching her wardrobe for a dress for later that night. She was looking for a simple dress to wear, but every time she thought she found one, she asked herself if Killian would like her in it and everytime she chastised herself for thinking that way. It was stronger than her to wonder those things even though deep inside her she didn’t want to rekindle the relationship she had with him, this time really afraid on where it might lead her.

 

She finally found the perfect dress for tonight, an emerald dress to match her eyes, with thin straps and a scoop neckline. The dress was belted and the circle skirt flowed down to her knees. She decided to add a small silver chain with a silver circle, around her neck. Her hair was down and she curled the end of it to add some volume and decided to keep her make-up light. When she finished with the ensemble of her look, she went in search of her pair of black high heels and took a look of herself on her full length mirror. Emma inhaled deeply as to steel herself for the evening and grabbed her purse and left her apartment. 

 

As she got out of the cab, her mouth fell open upon seeing the big white mansion that was her boss’s house. No wonder she felt comfortable hosting such an event. There was a line of cars near the entrance, and Emma avoided them as she walked towards the entrance. She rang the doorbell, and waited as she heard the faint sound of the discussions and soft music coming from the house, wondering if Killian was already there mingling with people. 

 

Regina opened the door with a glass of champagne in hand and welcomed Emma into her house with a warm smile. Emma’s eyes grew wide as she took in the vast space before her, adorned in the most modern and yet classical decor. 

 

Her boss led her to the large living room where all of her guests were, giving her a glass of champagne and instantly started presenting her to some of the guests. Emma was caught off guard not at all prepared to face all of these people all at once and talk about business right away. 

 

When she finally managed to escape Regina’s grasp, she went to a waiter and grabbed herself another glass of champagne and went to a far end corner of the room, eyes scanning for a tall handsome dark-haired-blue-eyes-scruffy man. She licked her lips nervously when she thought she caught sight of him but only turned out to be a man she didn’t know. Just when she abandoned all hope of seeing him, she caught glimpse of him near the fireplace talking with a very attractive brunette. Emma couldn’t help but to feel this pang of jealousy lurch inside her, twisting her stomach in the most unpleasant way, making her heart ache. 

 

Taking in a shaky breath, she tried to reason with herself. Maybe everything that she thought that was between them was only a lie, and he really just wanted to have a physical relationship. She’s also the one who told him that it was over, that she didn’t want anything to do with him, so in the end, she had no right to be jealous or mad at him for flirting with another gorgeous woman.

 

Her eyes were still fixated on him and the company he was having, when he lifted his eyes and locked his gaze with her. Emma swallowed hard, nervous that he had caught her looking at him with a longing look. She straightened herself and scanned the room for an escape and walked out of the living room. She noticed the stairs and decided to venture herself on the second floor, taking advantage of the quiet and alone time to gather her wits. She stumbled into Regina’s library and made her way inside with her glass of champagne as she skimmed through the books on the shelves. 

 

A faint knock on the door surprised her and turned around to take a glimpse of the person seeking permission to join her. Her heart stopped when she saw Killian standing on the door frame, both hands in the pockets of his pants. Her eyes fluttered when she took in how good he looked in that black suit and white shirt. She deposited her drink on the big round wooden table at the center of the room, and leaned on it for support.

 

“Hi.” She breathed out when Killian started to take a couple of steps inside in her direction, stopping only when there was a few feets separating them.

 

“You look beautiful tonight.” His eyes were dark, the way he would always look at her before he devoured her.

 

Emma felt the sexual tension between them boil in a way it hadn’t in a long time. Her hands gripped the end of the table until her knuckles turned white, trying to keep her composure and not let go of what she had been wanting to tell him for the past couple of days. She needed to tell him before anything else happened or didn’t happen.

 

Killian licked his lips and made a move to close a few more inches between them, stopping when she cleared her throat and straightened herself.

 

“I wanted to apologize.” She blurted out with no warning, knowing that if she kept it inside her any longer, she wouldn’t be able to tell him, ever. 

 

His thick eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he opened his mouth to reply something but quickly closed it. He shifted his feet, his right hand going to scratch the back of his head. 

 

“I’ve got to say I’m little confuse here love.”

 

“For being a bitch.” She added to which he looked at her even more intrigued and confused.

 

“Leaving you in the middle of the night, for everything that I said that night at your place and, for acting the way I did with you the other day at work.” Emma explained her voice raising a little as she tried to clear things up. 

 

Killian smiled at her, and looked down to his feet before closing some of the space between them, making her breath hitch.

 

“Don’t. I appreciate what you are trying to do Swan, but you’re not the only one who needs to apologize, we both acted like fools.” 

 

Emma was caught off guard when his fingers started to graze the skin of her arms, reaching her shoulders and then caressing her neck until he cupped her face.

 

“You pushed me away because you were afraid. Afraid that there’s more to us than just sex, and you know there is.”

 

“Is there?” She murmured against his lips, now so close that just a tilt of her head and they would be kissing, and God knows she wants to. 

 

“Yes, you’re something of an open book.” 

 

“Then tell me, what am I thinking now?” Her blood was racing through her veins, pumping her heart so hard that she felt it might rip itself out of her. 

 

He leaned back, his burning look heating up her whole body, grazing his tongue over his bottom lip, her eyes following its movement intently. Before she could do anything, Killian was kissing her softly, pressing her on the edge of the table as her hands curled around his neck so she could hold on to something. 

 

Emma moaned when she felt his warm tongue dart inside her mouth, making her lose more and more of the self-control that she was trying to keep, but around him she had none. His strong hands made their way down until they reached the back of her knees, pulling her up so she could sit on the table. She parted her legs to pull him closer, her eyes rolling back when she felt his bulge press on her wanting heat. 

 

She had miss this more than she cared to admit, and now she only wanted more, but something was keeping her from doing so. The voice at the back of her head reminding her that she still felt confuse on her feelings for this man, wondering if she would ever be less damaged to actually welcome him into her heart. It was silly, they almost knew nothing about each other (well she did a bit more than him), but she just knew that he would take care of her and her shattered heart. He was right, she was crippled by fear, on the endless possibilities that he could give her.

 

His mouth was now on her neck, nibbling on the sensitive skin while his hands were now cupping her breasts through her dress, making her head fall backwards as she arched her back. His lips were quickly on hers again, trying to pour all of these emotions he felt for her into that kiss, knowing that words would be too overwhelming for her. He didn’t made any other move to take her, settling himself on kissing her which is something that was new for both of them since they were always so desperate to tear the clothes off their backs and just take the other. 

 

The sound of a throat being cleared pulled them both out of their trance, lips detaching from one another, an alarmed look turned towards the person standing in the doorway. Jefferson was trying to avoid looking directly at him, shifting uncomfortably while Emma climbed down from the table and straightening herself while Killian did the same.

  
  


“Regina wants the three of us to go down and present our work.” He said in a dry tone and left the room, leaving them alone once again.

 

Emma was about to leave when she felt Killian’s fingers wrap around her wrist, making her turn around to face him.

 

“Emma, let’s start this over.” He asked her with pleading eyes.

 

“We can’t, didn’t you heard what Jefferson just told us, Regina is waiting for us.” 

 

“I mean us. Let me take you out on a date again, and see what this is. No sex, just us.” Killian waited eagerly for her answer, one that Emma didn’t know how to answer. 

 

“I… I don’t know. Can’t we talk about this after the party?”

 

“As you wish.” He simply replied and let go of her wrist. 

 

They both made sure they looked presentable and headed down the stairs and rejoin the mass of people awaiting for them to present their project.


	9. Chapter 9

The moment they finished their presentation, Killian was invaded by investors and such to ask him more about the project  Savior . Emma walked to one side of the room as she grabbed herself another flute of champagne and looked at him from afar as she thanked the passing guests who congratulated her. Jefferson came to join her shortly after and they both stood in an awkward silence as he had yet to address what he witnessed in Regina’s library.

 

“So, you and Jones. That explains a lot.” He told her after awhile. Emma shifted uncomfortably, her eyes meeting his for a brief moment. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure what to say and what not to say. She didn’t want her or Killian to get in trouble for fraternizing. Could they? In any case she wanted to avoid any type of gossip and trouble. 

 

“Can you please not tell anyone? I don’t want to get in trouble.” She pleaded while Jefferson stared at her, as she could see the wheels turning inside his head making her more and more nervous.

 

“I won’t tell a soul, but you owe me.” She nodded as Jefferson then took his leave. 

 

Emma was so caught up in her thought, relieved that her co-worker didn’t push the matter any further that she didn’t see Killian walk up to her, noticing his presence only when his hand went rest on the small of her back, making her jump slightly. 

 

“Easy there love, it’s just me.” He chuckled as he gave her one of those breathtaking smile. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and smiled back.

 

“Sorry, I was just thinking.” 

 

“About me, I hope.” Her eyes instantly rolled as her cheeks started to hurt from smiling too much.

 

“Want to get out of here? So we can talk without being interrupted.” Killian’s eyes were hopeful and vulnerable, as if he was afraid that despite what happened earlier she would have changed her mind about him. 

 

“Sure.” The smile he gave was so bright and happy she was convinced he could light up a city with it, which made her stomach flutter and heart skip a beat. 

 

-/-

 

Emma offered him to come over to her place. The cab drive was silent as they both were still nervous about what was about to come, to finally be honest with themselves (well more her than him) about whatever this between them. They occasionally stole glances from each other, a small smile curving their lips as she noticed that more than once that Killian wanted to hold her hand but resigned on doing so.

 

He followed her into her apartment, his eyes scanning around her place while Emma dropped her keys in the table near her entrance door and took out her high heels shoes, her feet really appreciating the flat surface beneath them. She padded towards the kitchen grabbing two glasses from her cupboard while Killian sat in one of her kitchen stools.

 

“You’ve got a nice place here, Swan.” Emma looked up at him as she poured them a drink and found Killian still looking around her place.

 

“Thanks, it’s not much but I like it.” She dropped the bottle of whiskey down on the counter and slid him his glass, fingers touching as he took it, making them both look at each other. A familiar hum started to resonate through her as their skin touched, making her blood run through her veins at a fast pace. 

 

“Material things and quantity don’t make a home, it’s who's living there that does.” There was an unfamiliar glint in his eyes, one she saw only once (earlier in Regina’s library), one that made her cheeks turn pink as she felt scrutinized by his open and honest stare. 

 

She smiled shyly at him before taking a sip of her drink, the strong alcohol burning down her throat. Killian did the same, his eyes never leaving her, licking his lips as he finished his sip.

 

“You wanted to talk.” Emma said as she cursed herself for sounding so nervous as she heard her own voice come out insecure and shaky.

 

“I did.” She nodded in response but they both stayed silent as the tension between them raising. 

 

Killian left the stool he was sitting on and walked around the counter so he could be next to her, Emma gulped hard when he stood before her, trapped between him and the counter. He took her hands in his, fingers intertwined, the warmth of his hands comforting her in a way she didn’t know it could.

 

“Do you want to start over?” He asked her his voice low and hoarse, the sound igniting something inside her.

 

“Maybe, I don’t know.” She whispered as she then bit her lower lip.

 

“Why not?” He replied as he cocked his head to the side, his thick eyebrows furrowed.

 

“What if it doesn’t work? 

 

“What if it does?” Killian he counter-offered.

 

Emma smiled at him, not believing the man that was in front of her. So different than her and yet she sensed that he was so similar to her. She couldn’t pinpoint on what exactly, but she just knew.

 

“Are you always this optimistic?” She teased him as she let her hand rest on his chest, the other one grabbing his waist. Killian smirked at her as he got more confident and closed one more inch, taking most of the air between them making it more and more difficult to breathe for her.

 

“Most of the time. What do you say, Swan?” His nose was brushing hers, his mouth hovering over hers as his hands rested on her hips, making everything about him, them, so tempting. Maybe she could for once see things from another angle, that things between them might work instead of doing what she always do and imagine things burn to the ground before even trying and seeing where it could lead her. 

 

Their eyes met for a brief moment, the hand resting on his chest trailing upwards as it went to curl behind his neck, lifting her lips upwards so she could reach his. The kiss was chaste, as they both let themselves enjoy this little moment. Killian broke the kiss, pulling his lips back not too far from hers, his hands leaving her waist and cupping her cheeks as his forehead was now pressed with hers. She felt him exhale a relieved sigh followed by a nervous chuckle.

 

“Does this mean yes?” 

 

Emma’s stomach fluttered hearing how his voice sounded nervous and wrecked, still not believing that she was doing that to this man.

 

“Yes.” She answered before capturing his lips, this time for a hungry kiss. Killian was now definitely more confident as he pressed her on the counter, parting her legs with his knee and settled himself between them. Emma’s moan got caught at the back of her throat when she felt the hard bulge straining his pants pressing on her stomach. 

 

Emma’s hands clutched at his shoulders for support. When she managed to speak, his lips left a path of hot wet kisses down her throat.

 

“Killian.” She moaned as it gave him more confidence, his hands now cupping her backside. “Do you still want to do the no sex thing for awhile?” Emma instantly regretted asking him that since she wanted more than nothing to have her world rocked by him, knowing that he would leave her more than satisfied. But she needed to know, it could also be a good thing taking things slow for once.

 

Killian paused, a defeated sigh leaving him as he rested his forehead on her shoulders. He lifted his head to look at her with small smile.

 

“I did say that earlier, didn’t I?” He teased a tad disappointed, but nonetheless he seemed happy. Emma laughed at his reaction as her hand caressed his cheek. “How long do you want to do this?”

 

“I don’t know, what is the number of dates to have before having sex? Four? Five?”

 

“Let’s say four dates.” 

 

“You’re on.” She smiled at him, and let herself succumb to the warmth of his lips for one more time before disentangling themselves. 

 

Killian left shortly thereafter, both knowing that if he stayed any longer they wouldn’t be able to reach their four dates. They instead made plans for their first date so they could finally start spending some time together. 

 

-/-

 

The no-sex rule proved more difficult to get through that she thought. Killian had invited her at his place for their first date, insisting on making her supper. The night went well, as she enjoyed the food and drinks he offered her and despite being extremely nervous before arriving to his place, she felt herself get more and more comfortable as the date went on. 

 

The one thing they both didn’t consider, was the closeness. Everytime he was near her, fingers grazing her skin, eyes gazing a bit too long on the others lips, suddenly made everything more tense, hot, and needy. The fact that they were also alone, in his apartment, where it was obvious that they could ditch the food and just fuck each other until neither of them could walk was very tempting. Emma had to take deep breath more than once to calm herself and noticed Killian doing the same as well. Needless to say that they decided that their other dates would have to take place in public.

 

On their second date, they opted for the classic: a diner and a movie. Compared to the first time they went to the restaurant a couple of weeks ago, Emma let herself open up to Killian as she told him about Tink, her best friend, the one that had supported her through all of the hard phases from her life. She still didn’t feel ready to tell him the real reason why she decided to work for the foster system as an accountant, but hoped that one day she will. Killian talked to her about his brother Liam, and was amazed to see the admiration that shone through his eyes whenever he related a story about him. He was obviously someone he admired, a lot. 

 

Keeping their hands for each other was more easy, but when the movie started, their willpower was tasted yet again. They let their hands wander through the darkness of the theater, fingertips grazing the others thigh until they both shot each other a look and settled for holding hands. 

 

For their third date, Emma decided to take matters in her own hands and made plans to spend the evening at a bowling alley. She quickly realized that the usually cocky Killian actually sucked at playing bowling. The news amazed her and she couldn’t help herself to tease him all night as he went from a very shy and blushing Killian to one not missing a chance to tease her back, settling them both in a very playful and flirty banter. 

 

Almost two weeks passed since Regina’s party, Emma and Killian had finally come to their fourth date, the one she saw has  the date. It’s not as if they had never had sex, because that’s all of what their relationship was for awhile, but it would be the first time since they had both gotten to know each other better. 

 

At work, they had tried to keep their relationship strictly professional and she was quite impressed that they pulled it off, the main reason being that it was a project that they both kept close to the heart. It didn’t prevent them to from occasionally winking at the other when Jefferson wasn’t looking, or having their foot graze the other shin with a teasing smirk. 

 

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t anxious, nervous and excited for their date, especially with what she had planned for him. She had insisted despite Killian’s protest (he wanted to be a gentleman and treat her at his place), to invite him over her apartment and make him supper. 

 

Emma was in the shower, getting herself ready as she let the food simmer a little while longer. A faint knock came from her front door as she finished washing her hair. She yelled  ‘come in’  and moments later she heard the door open, Killian calling out her name. 

 

“In here.” She shouted from the shower as she rinsed out the shampoo out of her hair. 

 

“Swan, am I too early? I thought you said seven.” 

 

“I did, I just thought that maybe you could join me before we ate anything else.” Emma made sure that her voice came out sultry and seductive and she smirked when she practically heard him gulp and shift uncomfortably. 

 

“Eager to get to that part of the date aren’t you love?” His voice was husky, clearly amused with what she had planned for him.

 

“Get in here or I’m starting without you.” Killian groaned at the sound of clothes hitting the ceramic floor made itself heard as he hastily made his way towards the shower. 

 

Killian didn’t give her time to react as he entered her shower, grasping her head between his strong hands, lips crashing on hers, desperate to feel the softness of her pink lips. Emma instantly moaned, feeling his already hard rock cock pressing on her stomach. The kiss quickly go out of control, nibbling and sucking their bottom lips, nails digging into their wet skin. 

 

Emma gasped when Killian turned her around in one strong movement, one hand on her hip as he lined himself to her entrance, gliding the tip of him through her soaked folds. He pushed inside her slowly, both relishing in the way they were connecting to each other once again. She felt herself stretch around him, the sensation knocking the air out of her lungs as he started to thrust inside her, slowly picking up the pace. 

 

His grunts and groans mixed with her moans echoed through the walls of her shower, as he kept pounding in her, the sound of wet flesh smacking together. His nails imprinting half moon shaped on her hips as he whispered how much he missed being inside her, feeling how tight and hot she was around him, how he stayed up late at night thinking about her hand wrapped around his cock wishing it was her. The filthy things he murmured deep in her ear and the sensation of him inside her, thumb drawing fast circles on her bundle of nerve was enough to make her reach her peak embarrassingly fast, as he quickly followed her over the edge.

 

When they were both sated, they held each other under the shower stream, kissing each other languidly. Ten minutes later, they finally managed to get out of the shower and actually getting starting on their date as Emma went to check on the food that had time to simmer just perfectly.

 

Not bothering with getting fully clothed, they ate their supper in their underwear as they sat on her couch watching a crappy movie on TV. 

 

As soon as they finished their food, they didn’t waste time on exploring every surface of her apartment until they fell asleep on her bed, limbs tangled together. When morning came, she didn’t feel completely crippled with fear, the need to run not simmering inside as he laid beside her. 

  
For the first time, she felt happy and content with his arm draped around her waist as he nuzzled her neck.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for taking so long to update, my muse has been fickle so I’m slowly making progress on my stories. I honestly still don’t know how many chapters are left to this story (I should seriously learn to outline my stories). I hope you guys like this chapter, smuff, fluff and progress!!
> 
> Thanks to Nicki as always for being an amazing beta!
> 
> Read and enjoy!

Emma was still sleeping soundly when she felt a familiar tension simmer low in her abdomen. She barely shifted under the sheets when she felt his lips on her neck, peppering her neck with marks of affection while she felt his arousal pressing on her backside. 

 

“Are you awake, love?” Killian whispered in her ear as he then sucked on her earlobe, the action making her gasp.

 

“Yes.” She barely managed to answer when the hand that was resting on her hips dove between her legs his fingers grazed her already sopping flesh, teasing her as he avoided touching where she wanted him the most. He must have been working her while she was asleep, no wonder she was having dirty dreams. 

 

His face was now hidden in the crook of her neck as she arched her back her arm flying behind her as she grasped a fistful of his hair. His cock was now between her parted legs and could feel the tip gliding through her folds. She was going mad with lust and want, getting more and more desperate for his touch or just  something .

 

“Fuck, Killian, do something.” She wanted to groan but her voice only came out broken.

 

With that desperate plea, Killian lifted one of her legs up as he finally entered her, the ache that had build inside her only briefly appeased. His hand then caressed along her body until it came to grasp one of her breasts, his fingers toying with her hard nipple as he started thrusting his hips, his cock gliding in and out of her. Emma felt herself more and more aroused with each thrust of his hips and the way his hands kept pinching her rosy nubs. 

 

She could feel that she was slowly reaching her climax when suddenly Killian stopped moving, the action instantly making her whimper,  she was so close . Instead Killian pulled out of her and moved to his back as his hands firmly gripped her waist and pulled her on top of him, her back to him. She should’ve feel embarrassed how fast she gripped his cock and sank down on him but she couldn’t care less when he felt that good inside her. 

 

Her hands gripped his thighs while she moved her hips up and down chasing her release. It didn’t take much longer for her to tumble over, Killian following a moment later groaning out her name as he came. 

 

Emma slumped back and regained her place next to him in his bed while he snaked his arm around her, securing her between his chest and his arm. She lifted her head up, her chin resting on his chest the hair beneath her skin tickling her. 

 

“I could seriously get used to waking up this way.” Emma smiled at him as Killian grinned at her, clearly proud of himself. 

 

“I wouldn’t mind waking up next to you every morning.” His words made her cheeks turn red as she saw how genuine he was. 

 

They still didn’t know exactly how to label their relationship but one thing was sure: she was happy,  he made her happy. She was still somewhat scared about making a commitment to him despite the fact that she was opening herself to Killian. 

 

It had been a month since they started sleeping together again, since the fourth date, and they quickly found a routine in which they spent most of their time (besides work) together. At first, they either spent the night at her place or at Killian’s, but mostly at his penthouse. A few nights went by and Killian needed to working late with his brother Liam at their company which led Emma to spend a few nights alone. She should have been terrified how quickly she grew accustomed to having Killian next to her, his body warming hers as they slept with their limbs tangled, but she wasn't. 

 

A few days went by and Killian surprised her after one of their project meetings. He waited for Jefferson to leave the room and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her back to his front. Emma smiled as he pressed a soft kiss where her neck and shoulder met before she pushed him back a bit so she could turn around and press her hands on his firm chest.

 

“We’re going to get caught.”  She whispered as he pressed a soft kiss on her lips. 

 

“I have something for you.”  He told her as he took a step back, his hand going to take something out of the pocket of his vest. 

 

Her eyebrows furrowed as she wondered what he was scheming. Her heartbeat paused for a moment or two as she saw the a silver key resting in his palm. She knew what that kind of gesture meant but couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Killian took her hand with his free one, and opened her fist as he then placed it in her palm. She tried to speak, but no sound came out of her lips. 

 

“It’s for you to drop by whenever you want, especially since I’ll be working late for the next couple of weeks.”  Emma looked up at him and saw the wary look on his face and the way his shoulders seemed to taut. 

 

She can’t blame him for feeling unsure about his bold move, considering how long it took her to admit that there might be more to them than just sex. After the realisation of his act really seeped in, she couldn’t help the way her lips curved upwards as her hands cupped his cheek, her lips seeking his. She could practically feel the tension leave his body as she kissed him. 

 

That first night that she went over to his place without him, she waited for him in a way that she knew Killian couldn’t resist. 

 

“Want to go out for breakfast?” Killian asked her as his fingers were grazing her spine. 

 

“I would love to, but I promised Tink I was going to join her for brunch since we haven’t seen each other much in the past month.”

 

“I've been hogging you all for myself lately, haven't I?" She smiled at him and pushed herself up so she could press a chaste kiss on his lips.

 

"You have, but I don't mind." 

 

Emma reluctantly got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom to take a shower before leaving.

 

"Want some company?" Killian asked as he sat on the bed, his eyes roaming her naked body.

 

"Maybe another time, I actually need to clean up and leave soon." She smiled when he made a show of being offended.

 

"Are you implying that I can't keep my hands off of you? Because let me tell you, I am more than capable to take a shower with you and keep my hands all to myself." One of his eyebrows was raised as if he was challenging her.

 

Emma pursed her lips as she made a show of thinking. 

 

"If you fail, you're spending tonight at my place." She said before turning around and resuming her walk towards the bathroom.

 

He actually did manage not to touch her in any inappropriate way, but she could see how hard it was, pun intended. She may have exaggerated cleaning some body parts, soft moans escaping her lips while she could see Killian biting down his bottom lip as he tried to focus on his task on keeping his hands to himself. She loved taking showers with him, seeing his naked body under the shower head, water dripping down, it was a very tempting sight. But today, she didn’t have time to ravish him. 

 

Emma finished before him and stepped out of the shower while leaving Killian to himself. She grabbed a towel and dried herself before leaving the bathroom and going back to his room to grab her clothes to get dressed. When Killian came out a couple of minutes later, she couldn’t help but give him a teasing smile as he walked to his dresser. 

 

“Feel better?” Killian turned his head around to look at her with an eyebrow raised as he started to take off the towel that was hanging low on his hips.

 

“No thanks to you.” She let out a giggle as she went to grab her earrings that were on his nightstand.

 

Killian finished dressing himself in his casual attire which were reserved for weekends only, jeans and a plaid shirt when she finished getting herself ready. She loved seeing him in a suit but the casual attire did look very good on him. 

 

Emma walked towards him and wrapped her hands behind his neck as she pulled him down to kiss him. His hands travelled down her back until he cupped her cheeks, squeezing them firmly which made her yelp which made him chuckle.

 

“Still want me to come over to your place tonight?” 

 

“Well that was if you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself back there.” 

 

“I don’t mind coming over. You have been spending a lot of time here, I thought that maybe you wanted to be in your own space a little bit.” He told her as he tilted his head in a cute way which made her grin grew even wider.

 

“Sure. I’d like that.”

 

They kissed each other goodbye and then Emma left his place and walked over to her apartment complex. She stopped at her apartment to change clothes and then went up to the next floor and went to knock on her friend’s door, entering when Tink yelled her  to come in.

 

Emma walked over to the kitchen where her friend probably was and was welcomed by a Tink rushing over her and wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug. After they greeted each other and asked how they were, her friend went back to prepare their breakfast while she went to sit on a stool.

 

“Want some help?” 

 

“Thanks, but I’ve got it under control. I’m making banana and peanut butter pancakes.” She said cheerfully.

 

“Wow, that sounds delicious.”

 

“It is. Oh and I bought some champagne so we could make some mimosas.” 

 

Emma got up and grabbed the champagne and popped the bottle open. They spent the next half hour casually exchange news about their live’s while Tink finished making breakfast and while Emma refilled their glass. 

 

Not long after they were both sitting on her kitchen table, with a good amount of pancakes sitting in the middle of the table while they grabbed one and pulled it on their plates. 

 

“Have you gotten any news of Adam?” Emma asked as she took a bite. Those pancakes definitely tasted like heaven.

 

“No.” TInk sighed. “I kind of saw it coming, every time we hooked together he was always a tad distant.”

 

“I’m sorry.” 

 

“It’s okay. I might just take a break of this whole dating thing, I know that out there there’s the perfect man for me, but maybe he’s just not ready to look out for me yet. I just need to wait.”

 

Emma smiled at her friend’s romantic and optimistic nature, the complete opposite of her. If anyone could find their happy ending was Tink, she deserved it. After all, she was the one that always played the role of the matchmaker since the moment she had met her and most of the times those couple stuck together. Her heart was big and giving, and it made Emma sad every once and awhile that such a sweet and good person was denied of finding  the one.

 

“Enough about me.” Tink shook her head as her hand reached for the bottle of champagne and filling half of her flute and then adding the orange juice. “What about you? What has been keeping you busy lately?”

 

Emma felt her cheeks turn red as she thought it was more of a ‘ who ’ that was keeping her quite busy. Her friend squinted her eyes briefly as she was trying to figure out what had brought the change of color on her cheeks until she seemed to make the discovery on her own. 

 

“You’re sleeping with Killian again aren’t you?” Tink asked as she leaned forward her drink in hand.

 

“I...uh...yes.” She finally managed to say while her friend excitedly jumped on her chair. When she managed to calm down a bit and sit on her chair again, Emma could sense that Tink had a millions of questions to ask her.

 

“I thought you didn’t want to deal with hi anymore?”

 

“I didn’t, but working on the same project with him, three times a week in a very small office with only another person to fill the room, it turns out to be difficult.”

 

“I need to know every single little detail.”

 

Emma knew that if she was seeing her friend today that she was going to end up talking up about Killian, and normally she would have dreaded it, but surprisingly, she felt like a teenage girl talking about her crush. 

 

She told her everything that happened from the moment they started working on the project together, playing childish games to make the other one jealous to the moment they had in Regina’s office. By the time she finished talking they had emptied the bottle of champagne that was sitting in the middle of the table and they both felt a bit tipsy. 

 

“I’m happy for you, Emma.” Tink gave her a proud smile as her hand came to rest on top of hers. “If anyone deserves to be happy that’s you. Just don’t fuck it up with your insecurities, you know you deserve it.”

 

Emma chuckled at her friend’s comment. She liked that Tink was the friend that didn’t feel she needed to tiptoe around her issues, she told her head on what she thought and it was what Emma needed sometimes. 

 

Tink was right, she had a good thing going on with Killian. She really needed to try and not to let her insecurities get the better of her like they did before and give him a chance. Losing him was the last thing she wanted, she wanted to have him by her side for as long as she could. That thought alone would normally give her enough strength to run away from their relationship, but weirdly enough she didn’t. 

 

They stood in silence for a moment while Emma thought about the man that waltzed in her life unexpectedly, Tink keeping an eye on her. 

 

“Do you love him?” She asked with a soft voice. Emma felt her inside twist and turn at the question, a question that she had been asking herself unconsciously for the past few days. Was it too soon to feel feelings of love for another person? It was. She couldn’t feel that way, it was too soon for it to happen. 

 

She felt her head get invaded by thoughts that could ruin her happiness and encourage her to flee. Old habits die hard, apparently. Tink sensed that her thoughts were spiraling down that way and squeezed the hand she was still holding.

 

“You’re letting yourself overthink this.” She stated. 

 

“Is it a bad thing when it comes to such strong feelings?” She retorted, trying to give a good reason to her questions.

 

“No, but for you? Yes. I think that if you suddenly feel this worried means that you do.” 

 

Emma knew she was right. She couldn’t admit to herself now, but one day maybe she would. The walls that had suddenly tried to erect itself around her heart once again, the ones that had been there for most of her life and that had vanished lately, slowly crumbled down as her friend reassured her and encouraged her to pursue those feelings. Working against her own defense mechanisms was hard, especially when they have protected her heart for so long, but she really wanted to be happy for once, and the major source of her happiness lately, was him. 

 

She left Tink’s later that afternoon after they finished drinking the bottle of champagne, and walked down the flight of stairs with a slight headache. When she entered her apartment she realized how little time she spent there and was quickly discouraged with untidiness of her place. Not wanting to have Killian come over here later that night in such a mess, she made herself a pot of coffee and proceeded on cleaning every surface of her apartment. 

 

By the time Killian arrived, her place was practically shining while Emma laid on the couch completely exhausted. They spent the night in, ordering some take out and watching movies until she fell asleep her head on his lap. She woke up Sunday morning, not on the couch or her head on his lap, but safely tucked under her sheets with a strong arm holding her waist. Emma could feel Killian’s steady breath caress her skin and smiled at how comfortable they had become with each other. 

 

Emma shifted on the mattress until she could face Killian, his mouth slightly parted, a soft snore escaping his lips every now and then. Her fingers instantly went to caress his forehead and his hair, smiling when she noticed his features twitch a little as they enjoyed the caress that her touch procured. 

 

Suddenly, Killian took in a deep breath as he slowly squinted his eyes open, the rest of his body slowly waking itself up as he stretched his arms above him. 

 

“Hey” He murmured softly, his voice still thick with sleep.

 

“Hey.” She smiled at him as her hand went to caress his cheek, her fingertips being tickled by his stubble. 

 

“Enjoying watching me sleep, eh?” A sleep grin appeared on his face and was annoying how just a tiny smile could make her stomach flutter and halt her breathing. It didn’t help that his hands were now apparently wide awake and slowly started to caress her from the waist up. 

 

They laid in her bed for awhile, relishing on the small moment which was free from any commitment with the outside world. Right now, in her room, under her sheets, it was just them and no one else. They talked about everything and nothing as they refused to get out of the bed despite the fact that their stomach were growling and that the need to use the bathroom was making itself more and more pressing. 

 

“Are you free next Friday?” Killian suddenly asked while his feet softly grazed her shin. 

 

“Mmm, I don’t know. I’ll probably be busy with this handsome British that I work with, did I ever mentioned him?” She teased while she couldn’t help the smile that was stretching her lips.

 

“You haven’t. I’ll have to meet that man and tell him you’re mine.” He growled as he pulled her towards him with such force that it made her yelp followed by a giggle when he buried his face in the crook of her neck. 

 

When they finally managed to break the kiss, Killian leaned slightly back and looked at her. 

 

“Since you’re free, I was wondering if you’ll be willing to have dinner with me and my brother Liam?” 

 

Emma’s breathing stopped at the mention of the possibility of meeting his older brother, his only family. The anguish that fulfilled her was quite similar of the one when the person you’re seeing is asking you to meet his parents. Her eyes fluttered as she felt her mouth agape, not knowing what to say. She tried to ignore the anxiety that was threatening to overwhelm her, which would undoubtedly lead her to run and tried to ignore those instincts as Tink’s words keep swirling around in her head as a reminder to no fuck this up.

 

Killian seemed to sense that his request was maybe a tad too much for her, a girl with lots of abandonment and commitment issues. 

 

“Emma, do not feel obligated in any way to agree to this if you don’t feel comfortable doing it.” He reassured as his hand caressed her arm. 

 

She pursed her lips as she swallowed the saliva that had seemed to gather in her mouth and slightly shook her head. 

 

“It’s okay, I don’t mind. You just caught me by surprise.” She lifts her eyes to meet his, her teeth sinking on her bottom lip. 

 

“Is it okay if I bring a friend?” She asks.

 

“The more the merrier.” He simply replies with a grin before capturing her lips for a searing kiss. 


	11. Chapter 11

To say she was nervous was quite the understatement. Tonight was a big night-the night she was going to meet Liam Jones: the co-owner of Jones & Jones, the famous rum distributor. He was also the brother of...well, the man she was seeing. Emma was more than relieved that Tink had agreed to accompany her to Killian’s penthouse for the supper. 

 

Tink was actually pretty excited to finally meet Killian and to witness whatever he and Emma shared. She also kept asking Emma what his brother looked like, since Tink was to keep him company during the evening. To be honest, Emma didn’t have a clue what Liam looked like. But if he was anything like his brother, he would be nothing but handsome.

 

Emma was putting the last finishing touch to her make-up when the door knocked, followed by the sound of the door opening.

 

“It’s me!” Tink yelled as she made her way further into Emma’s apartment and joined her in the bathroom.

 

“Wow, you look amazing!” She exclaimed, making Emma roll her eyes and chuckle at her friend’s comment.

 

“I’m just wearing jeans and a nice shirt. It is nothing impressive.” Emma shrugged as she went to grab her purse. 

 

“When you put your hair like that and add some make-up and jewelry, it is not just jeans and a nice shirt.” Her friend looked at her with her an eyebrow raised, a pleased smile creeping on her face when Emma didn’t respond.

 

They hailed a cab the moment they stood on the sidewalk, and they were quickly on their way to Killian’s. Emma kept rubbing the palms of her sweaty hands on her thighs as she tried to keep her breathing under control. As the moment of truth approached, she felt herself get more and more nervous over meeting her boyfriend’s brother.

 

“Nervous?” Tink asked while Emma gave a strained laugh. 

 

“Yeah.” Emma looked up at her friend who gave her reassuring smile. 

 

“Everything will be fine. I’m sure his brother is going to adore you.” 

 

“Maybe. It’s just that this a big step for me. I’ve never met any of my boyfriend’s families, and the fact that Killian looks up to his brother so much makes it even more nerve wracking.”

 

“It is a big step and can I say how proud I am of you for not running away from it?” Emma looked up at her friend and saw the proud smile Tink was giving her, which in turn made Emma smile. 

 

They arrived at Killian’s penthouse a few minutes later and Emma waited in front of his door for a moment as she tried to gather the courage to knock. Tink grabbed her hand and squeezed it, as to give her the strength to do it. She moistened her dry lips and squared her shoulders, exhaling as she did it.

 

It didn’t take long for Killian to answer the door, and just like that, any doubts and insecurity that may have occupied her mind left as he smiled at her. She couldn’t help the grin that appeared on her face and closed the space between them so she could press a kiss on his lips. A faint ‘aw’ was heard as they kissed. Emma instantly leaned back with her cheeks all red, as well as Killian’s.

 

“You two are cute,” Tink commented as she walked towards Killian with her hand ready to shake his. 

 

“You must the famous Tink. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” 

 

“Likewise.” Tink smiled at him and when he turned around to lead them inside, she looked at Emma with a very impressed expression.

 

Once they were inside, they were greeted by another man who was as attractive as Killian. His eyes were the same shade of blue as his younger brother, and his hair was lighter and curly with a light scruff covering his jaw.

 

Liam smiled at them, and she cursed the Jones genes for making them able to charm anyone with just one of what she would now call the trademark Jones smile.

 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Emma. I have to congratulate you for being able to torment my little brother the way you did.” Liam winked at her as he took her hand in his, and leaned forward to press a light kiss on her hand. She couldn’t help to feel amused at seeing that the Jones brothers did seem to be quite alike.

 

The introduction part of the evening went quickly and they then moved from the entrance towards the terrace as the men went to fetch their drinks. It was a warm night and Killian had decided to have them eat outside, on his large wooden terrace from which there was an incredible view of the city. 

 

They all nursed their drinks while standing as they were getting to know each other. Liam occasionally asked Emma a few questions and she answered them as best as she could, trying hard not to show her nervousness. Killian must have sensed that she was a bit tense since he quickly came to snake his arm around her, his hand firmly resting on her hip. When Liam turned his attention to Tink, she felt Killian’s lips brush her ear.

 

“It’s alright, love. No need to be nervous. My brother loves you already.” She couldn’t help but chuckle at his certainty, and lifted her eyes to meet his. 

 

“Oh yeah? What makes you think that?” 

 

“He told me so.” Her heart leapt as she heard those words, a grin appearing on her face at the news. Killian mirrored her smile and pressed her even further into him as he pressed a light kiss to her temple. 

 

After a while, the girls let the boys take care of the grill while Emma offered to take care of the salad. Tink followed her to the kitchen so she could help. Emma grabbed what she needed from the fridge and took out a bowl from the cupboards. As Emma grabbed a knife so she could cut the vegetables, she noticed her friend looking at her with an impressed look.

 

“What?” 

 

“You sure do know how to get around in his kitchen,” Tink teased while Emma rolled her eyes at the comment. 

 

“I did tell you I was spending a lot of time here.” Tink smiled at her as Emma took a tomato and rinsed it.

 

“I understand why you fell for him, and I’m not only talking about the good looks. He’s really funny and smart, and with the way he looks at you, I would be throwing myself at him too.”

 

“I didn’t throw myself at him!” Emma retorted with an indignant tone, to which Tink just hummed in response. 

 

Emma started cutting the vegetables as she tried to remember if she ever threw herself at Killian, and was ashamed to admit that she may have done so once or twice. She felt her cheeks go red as she tried to focus her thoughts on the task at hand. 

 

“Liam is not so bad either.” Her friend timidly added. Emma raised her eyes to look at Tink  and noticed that she was blushing. Emma dropped the knife on the cutting board and let her hands rest on the counter.

 

“You  like him.” It was more of a statement than a question, and with the color of her friend’s cheeks, the answer was quite clear. 

 

Tink gave her friend a giddy smile as she shifted on her spot.

 

“I don’t know, I mean he’s handsome and charming. To be honest, I haven’t felt this pull since...well ever ,” Tink gossiped, as she leaned forward toward Emma. 

 

“The Jones brothers do seem to know how to seduce woman.” The girls laughed as they continued their task. 

 

“Are you going to go for it?”

 

“I don’t know. He’s too good to be true. He couldn’t possibly be interested in a girl like me.” 

 

At that, Emma dropped the knife on the counter as she glared at her friend.

 

“That’s the kind of thing I used to say when I started seeing Killian and you told me not undersell myself. Now it’s my turn to tell you the same." Tink gave her a shameful look, realizing that she was in fact doing the same thing that she told Emma not to do. 

 

"I know you've had a lot of bad luck in love, but if Liam is anything like Killian-and I have a feeling he is-, he will be more than happy to be with you."

 

Tink bit her lower lip as she pondered what Emma had said. "You really think so?"

 

"I'm positive." Emma’s hand went to cover her friend's hand as she tried as best as she could to reassure her. 

 

They ate supper on the terrace, enjoying the warm breeze as they drank wine. Emma noticed Tink’s crimson cheeks whenever Liam turned around to talk to her. It had been a long time since Emma had seen her friend this flustered over a man and she couldn’t really blame her. Emma felt the same way for the man next to her. 

 

As if Killian could sense that she was thinking of him, she felt his hand rest on her thigh and he squeezed it lightly. He leaned in until his lips brushed her ear.

 

“I think we inadvertently played match-maker tonight.” Emma chuckled and turned her head to look at him.

 

“We did. Do you think we should give them a little moment alone?” One of his eyebrows raised as he gave her a smile, which she had come to know as the flirty one. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his reaction. The back of her hand went to hit him lightly on the chest as he let out an ‘ umph’ . 

 

“Not that, idiot. Let’s clear the table and do the dishes.” Killian pouted at her as if he was eight year old boy. 

 

He followed her lead after she promised him a very enjoyable night when their guests left.

 

Liam and Tink protested and insisted on helping them, but Killian firmly declined as he gave his brother a look. She assumed it was one of those knowing looks brothers gave each other, and with that Liam regained his seat and continued talking to Tink. 

 

Cleaning the dishes proved to be a more difficult task that she had anticipating, with Killian’s wandering hands distracting her every now and then. She wanted nothing more than to be alone with him and tease him until he begged her to claim him. 

 

They managed to finish their cleaning without incident. Emma decided to make some coffee for everyone while Killian went to grab the dessert from the fridge and brought it outside. She followed him the moment she turned on the coffee machine and then grabbed the four plates and utensils and headed towards the terrace.

 

As they ate dessert, Liam decided to tell them stories about Killian when he was younger, Killian groaning whenever his brother added a detail he wished he didn’t. His cheeks were red, clearly ashamed of some of the stories. 

 

Emma turned her head to look at him with a teasing smile, to which he responded with one of his own. 

 

“Do you remember that time when you were ten and you wanted to impress the little girl, Milah, next door?” Liam asked after he took a sip of his mug, and his brother rolled his eyes upon hearing another story revolving around him. 

 

“Liam, I think we’ve heard enough stories about me for one night. They’re all old, and, may I add, embarrassing.” 

 

His older brother chuckled at his response. To be honest, Emma enjoyed hearing stories about him,. It gave her another light on who he was and how he became the man he is now. And she must admit, she did enjoy seeing Killian all red and embarrassed at some stories. It was such an unusual side of him. 

 

“That’s what brothers are for when meeting the girlfriend, especially since you never dared introduce me to any of the other girls you’ve dated.” Liam pointed out and he then resumed telling his story.

 

For a moment, Emma couldn’t hear what Liam was saying, as she felt mixed feelings invade her. At the mention of other girls Killian had dated, she couldn’t help to feel this pang of jealousy course through her, even though she knew it was before her. It confirmed that he used to have different girls to warm his bed. But then,  she  was the only one that was having dinner with his only family. Knowing Killian, this was a  big  step.

 

She was partially listening to the story as she got lost in her own thoughts, seeing how far she had come from the moment she had met him. Refusing to give him a chance, to get to know him better, convincing herself that whatever was between them was purely physical. Yet, here she was, having dinner with him and his brother as she brought one of the most important people in her life. Emma smiled when she realized how much she cared about Killian to the point that she had fallen in love with him. 

 

The notion of love still terrified her since she had promised herself a few years back that love wasn’t for her. She knew Killian loved her. It was odd how certain she was of it, but she just knew with the way he looked at her, how he took care of her and talked to her. 

 

Emma caught the end of the story, laughing with Tink and Liam while Killian looked embarrassed at what had been said. 

 

Later that evening, Liam offered to give Tink a ride back to her place and she accepted promptly. As they all bid each other goodnight, Emma winked at her friend and whispered good luck while the brothers were giving each other a one-armed hug. They then exchanged partners as Liam came to hug Emma.

 

“Take care of my little brother. He cares a lot about you,” Liam whispered as he kissed her on the cheek. Emma smiled at him as she told him that she will and then she was alone with Killian. 

 

His arms didn't waste time on moving to her waist, pressing her back to his front while he nuzzled her neck. A content hum vibrated from her chest as she let her head fall back on his shoulder, relishing on the fact that they were finally alone. 

 

"I had fun tonight," Emma quietly stated when he started to lightly press his lips on her collarbone. 

 

"Me too, I’m happy that you finally met my brother.” She could hear that he was quite overwhelmed by that fact and it made her heart swell, knowing how happy he was that  she  was so important to him that he wanted her to meet the man he looked up to.

 

Emma turned around so she could face him, her hands sliding up his arms and shoulders until they reached the back of his neck. Raising herself on the tip of her toes, she kissed him slowly, enjoying the feel of his lips and tongue caressing mouth. His hands snaked down her waist until they rested on her backside. 

 

They stayed like that for a little while, enjoying the embrace of one another until they broke the kiss and rested their foreheads together, the tip of her fingers fondling the hair at the nape of his neck. 

 

“Want to take this back to bed?” Killian asked her with one of his trademark smirk and that goddamn eyebrow raised that made him even more irresistible. 

 

Her hands slid up his arms and went to grab the collar of his shirt as she then dragged him to his bed. They fell on his mattress, lips fused together and limbs tangled with one another. Emma felt drowsy after a few rounds and Killian tucked her under the covers as she heard him walk around the place, closing the patio door and turning off the lights. By the time he came to lie next to her, she was already too far gone to open her eyes to look at him. The last thing she felt was his arms around her, their bodies pressed together from shoulder to hip as they both fell asleep. 


End file.
